


Dream a Little Dream of Me

by pommedeplume, Tpants



Series: Hollow Hills [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Art, Dreams and Nightmares, Embedded Images, Epic Battles, F/M, First Time, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Pacific Northwest, Road Trips, Seattle, Sex Magic, Smut, Surreal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 05:54:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15745611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pommedeplume/pseuds/pommedeplume, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tpants/pseuds/Tpants
Summary: When Sirius Black's boyfriend, Remus Lupin, disappears he'll have to venture into a world of dreams, where anything he imagines can be made reality.





	1. Seattle

 

There he was. Remus Lupin was standing in the entry way for the Light Rail, sunlight beaming over him, right as Sirius stepped off the elevator.

“Remus,” Sirius said, his voice choking, releasing his hold on his luggage and rushing over to embrace his boyfriend.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Remus said and Sirius kissed him.

They kissed for just a moment before Sirius pulled away, saying, “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Sirius laughed and ran back to grab his luggage. It was stupid to abandon it but seeing Remus so suddenly had provided a potent distraction. This was real. He had dreamt about meeting Remus so many nights. But this was real and the sun was shining over Seattle, making everything warm.

Remus helped him pay then they rode the escalator up to wait for the Light Rail, which arrived several minutes later, allowing them to take their seats.

“Everything is _so_ green,” Sirius observed.

“It is the Evergreen State, after all,” Remus said, draping his arm over Sirius’s shoulders.

Sirius leaned his head over and Remus kissed the top of it. They slid so easily into this intimacy. It was unexpected but wonderful. The Light Rail went into motion, gliding up away from the airport. They said little as they moved beside the freeway. Time seemed to slip away, making Sirius feel like he was only half awake.

The Light Rail made numerous stops before they got off at Pioneer Square in Downtown Seattle, catching a bus up to Remus’s home in Fremont, which he had described many times as “artsy hippie Seattle.” Fremont was home to the Fremont Solstice Parade, which they would be watching the coming Sunday. The weekend after was Pride. It was going to be an exciting couple of weeks.

The bus dropped them off in Fremont across from a mural covered bridge. They crossed under the bridge, hand in hand.

“It’s a lot hotter here than I expected,” Sirius observed.

“Yeah. Not much rain once summer gets going. And no one has A/C,” Remus explained.

“Shit. I forgot you don’t have air conditioning. This is going to be terrible,” Sirius snickered.

“Hush, you,” Remus said, affectionately bumping his shoulder into Sirius, who felt his cheeks warm.

They crossed another road then headed down a nice looking residential street, Sirius’s luggage rolling behind them. Sirius was already stunned by how ridiculous the traffic in Seattle was. It might even be worse than New York City or Los Angeles, he wagered.

“Well, here it is,” Remus said, gesturing at a small but cute house.

He followed Remus up the steps and inside the house.

“I smell books,” Sirius said, seeing shelves of them all over the place, quite literally in every nook and cranny.

“Yes, I have a few.”

Sirius smiled, kicked off his shoes and walked over to a nearby shelf.

“Any copies of your own books?” Sirius asked, dragging his finger over book spines.

“Oh, yes. In my bedroom on my nicest shelf. It’s gold plated. Sits right next to other masterworks like the Complete Shakespeare and Twilight,” Remus winked.

“Twilight? My God, you really are selling yourself short,” Sirius snorted.

Remus slid his hands in the pockets of his beige slacks, that were probably very hip fifteen years ago but had probably been bouncing in and out of thrift stores for years before ending up in Remus’s possession.

“With talk like that you must really be hoping to get signed copies of all my works,” Remus said, rolling his eyes and continuing, “I suppose if you are good I could do that for you.”

“Oh? And what if I want to be… bad,” Sirius said, walking over to his boyfriend.

Remus closed his eyes, bent his head then bit his lip. He opened his eyes and said, “Depends how bad.”

“Very,” Sirius chuckled deviously.

Remus touched a hand to his face and smiled.

“Well… we can worry about that later. I don’t know about you, but I’m famished. Most of the fanciest places are downtown but there’s some decent places around here,” Remus said.

“I’ll take your word for it. Can we see the troll?” Sirius asked, having been dying to see the legendary Fremont troll with his own eyes.

“Yes. It’s funny. I walk past it so often I barely think of it anymore. How do you feel about tacos? There’s a decent taco bar nearby,” Remus suggested.

“Sounds good to me. Just uh… let me set my stuff away.”

 

* * *

 

Sirius enjoyed the tacos but he found he enjoyed watching Remus more. He knew his boyfriend was a looker but there was something about him that could only be observed in person. It was the little things. The small gestures he made with his hands, the way his vowels sounded just a little Canadian… the way he looked at Sirius like he was the only thing that mattered. The way he was still a bit shy.

With their meal finished and some beer in their bellies, they walked down the trail that went along Lake Union. Sirius took a picture of them both in front of the dinosaur topiary.

“Google is down that way, if we keep going,” Remus said, pointing west along the path.

“I thought Google was based in California?” Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It is. Actually, that’s not even the main Seattle office,” Remus added.

“I thought everyone in Seattle worked for Amazon.”

“A lot of them do. I’ve known some programmers who worked for Amazon and they all ended up quitting because of the work conditions.”

“That’s why I like working for myself! If I ever get overworked, I only have myself to blame!” Sirius proudly stated.

“It’s not so bad having a boss. My publishers give me excellent notes and have been nothing but supportive. Besides, you can afford to slack off. It’s a privilege to be an artist and work at your own pace,” Remus smirked.

Sirius gaped for a moment then laughed, giving Remus a kiss. He playfully rubbed their noses together then turned his head north.

“OK. I’ve seen the dinosaur, I want to see the troll now,” Sirius proclaimed.

“You’re so bossy. I like it,” Remus laughed, taking Sirius’s hand as he led them northeast through Fremont.

“There’s the Statue of Lenin,” Remus pointed at the large bronze statue.

“Why is there a Statue of Lenin in Seattle? That’s a bit weird,” Sirius said.

“Well, Seattle is a bit weird,” Remus said.

“You’re a bit weird,” Sirius replied.

“Don’t pretend you don’t love it,” Remus replied and Sirius bumped their shoulders together playfully.

Just up the road from the Statue of Lenin was the Fremont Troll, sitting beneath the Aurora Bridge. It was a hulking cement figure risen from the ground with a car trapped in its hand and a hubcap for an eye. A small crowd of families were gathered in front of it.

“We should get a picture taken,” Remus suggested.

“What? And have someone steal my iPhone? You must be kidding,” Sirius balked.

“No, they can steal mine,” Remus remarked, then walked over to a woman who seemed to be there with her son.

The woman nodded to Remus’s question and soon he and Sirius were seated together on the fingers of the troll’s right hand. They leaned into a kiss right as the picture was taken.

“Shall we go home?” Sirius asked, taking Remus’s hand.

“Yeah. You’ve still got two weeks left to explore Seattle,” Remus said.

“I’d rather take two weeks to explore you,” Sirius whispered, making Remus laugh as they climbed off the troll hand and made the walk back to Remus’s cosy little home.

They kissed and flirted on the way back but to Sirius’s slight disappointment, Remus didn’t ravage him as soon as they entered his home. Remus was probably being cautious. Sirius identified as being demisexual and Remus probably didn’t want to be the one to rush the issue. The truth was Sirius didn’t think the physical attraction would be so strong so fast but everything Remus did was so delightful.

Sirius stretched and said, “So, what now?”

Remus touched a finger to his chin. Good lord, it was a beautiful chin, Sirius thought. His entire jawline balanced the space between strong and delicate. Sirius wanted to kiss it all over.

“Maybe I’ll make us some tea and we can cuddle on the couch. I can read to you from one of my books,” Remus said, turning around to walk into the kitchen.

“Which one?” Sirius said.

“I could read a bit of my new one,” Remus replied.

“Fair enough,” Sirius said and sat back on the couch.

Shortly, Remus was back with some Earl Grey tea, their mutual favorite, and Remus read his unfinished work from a tablet while Sirius rested his head on Remus’s shoulder.

* * *

 

When Sirius awoke his first thought was that his tea was probably cold. His second thought was that Remus was snoring and it was weirdly cute. He wanted to wake him up and tell him how cute his snores were. Instead, he gently stood up and wandered off to the bathroom. When he returned, Remus was sitting up and rubbing his face.

“What time is it?” Remus asked.

“Twelve-thirty. Perhaps we should go to bed.”

Remus yawned and Sirius immediately yawned in response.

“I suppose we should. Do you want to sleep here?” Remus said, patting the couch.

“Do you not want me in your bed?” Sirius asked.

“I didn’t want to seem too forward,” Remus replied coyly.

“It’s not. I haven’t shared a bed with another man in far too long,” Sirius said, only letting a hint of sadness slip past his tongue.

Sirius’s last relationship had ended in disaster. They always did but the last one had really wounded him. For a time he thought he would never be able to truly be in love again. But then came Remus. They met online in a Facebook group of all places. Remus had already published novels, none of which Sirius had heard of. For the first year of their acquaintance they were mostly friends, though Sirius had thought Remus was dreamy from the first time he laid eyes on his profile picture.

Casual flirting had turned into heavy flirting and before too long they were talking from morning to bedtime every day, Sirius on the East Coast having to stay up too late sometimes to say goodnight with Remus on the West Coast. There was a lot of back and forth about who was going to visit whom before Sirius decided it was finally time he saw Seattle.

If there had been any doubt before there was certainly no doubt for him now, as Remus stood up from the couch and stepped towards Sirius. Sirius loved Remus Lupin. They were in love. He always knew when it was love because he was always ready to do something stupid to prove it. If Remus asked him right now to move to Seattle to be with him, he’d probably say yes without even thinking of the consequences of such a rash decision.

But he didn’t have to do anything stupid right now. He only needed to take his boyfriend’s hand and follow him to his bedroom.

“I usually sleep naked,” Remus confessed.

“Don’t let me stop you,” Sirius smiled.

Remus chuckled.

“Not tonight. You’ll have to settle for my boxers,” Remus said, pulling his shirt over his head.

Sirius bit his lip at the sight of Remus shirtless. He wasn’t exactly muscular but his torso was nice to look at with just the right amount of golden fuzzy chest hair. Remus turned around to pull his pants off while Sirius absentmindedly removed his own clothes.

They slipped into bed and Remus turned his lamp off. Sirius scooted next to Remus, draping an arm over his bare chest, the feel of his chest hairs making him smile as he inhaled the faint, lingering scent of Remus’s cologne.

“Are you ready for the parade tomorrow?” Remus asked.

“Yes,” Sirius replied, only half hearing him before he slipped away.

 

* * *

 

“What do you mean you’ve never seen a parade before? Never? You’re thirty-five, you’d think you’d have seen one by accident if nothing else. Like, oops I stepped out my front door and there’s a parade passing by!” Remus said as they walked down to the center of the Fremont Solstice Parade route from Remus’s house.

“It’s not like I’ve been purposefully trying not to see any parades. I don’t know. I have wanted to go to Pride but my boyfriends were always hipsters who don’t think Pride is cool anymore now that it’s mainstream,” Sirius grumbled.

“I’m definitely not a hipster. Actually, I’m not hip at all,” Remus said, tugging at the lapels of his very seventies button-up shirt.

“I think you’re pretty cool,” Sirius insisted.

Remus smiled at him, taking one of Sirius’s hands in his own.

“Well, with a background like yours, you must have fine taste,” Remus joked.

Sirius rolled his eyes but laughed despite himself. Remus loved to make digs at Sirius for the silver spoon in his mouth that he had grown up with. But the truth was Sirius had never wanted his parents’ money and he didn’t relate to their sort of aristocracy. He knew it was in his blood but he’d been pulling against it since he was a teenager.

“That sun really is hot,” Sirius said, glancing up at the clear skies above them.

“Yeah. People underestimate the sun in Seattle. You should’ve put on sunscreen,” Remus said.

Sirius shrugged.

“I’m not afraid of sunburn. I’m a masochist,” Sirius said, making Remus chuckle and give him a sly glance.

Despite Sirius’s defiance of the sun, Remus found them a nice spot in the shade to stand in while they watched the parade. The parade was opened, as Remus explained was tradition, by the naked cyclists. Sirius had never seen so many naked people covered in body paint in his entire life.

 

“My god, Remus, there are dicks, tits and asses as far as the eye can see. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at Sonic the Hedgehog the same way again,” Sirius gasped, finding a surprising amount of naked people were painted up to look like cartoon characters.

“Has it awakened something in you?” Remus asked sarcastically.

Sirius snorted and said, “All this time I’ve been painting on canvases when I should’ve been painting on people.”

“You can paint on me anytime you want,” Remus chuckled under his breath.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Sirius replied.

“Mmm. What else will you hold me to?” Remus said, lightly tapping Sirius in the side with an elbow.

Sirius laughed and didn’t reply. The cyclists finally passed and the parade got underway. There was lots of upbeat music, nature themed floats and a surprising amount of anti-capitalist stuff.

“You’ll see next weekend how Pride is the opposite of this when there’s like a Wells Fargo group in the Pride parade,” Remus said.

“Wow,” Sirius replied.

Sirius enjoyed the parade for a while but eventually it seemed to go on for far too long and even in the shade it seemed too hot. Once the parade finally ended Sirius wanted to get a beer but Remus insisted all the options would either have long waits or be too expensive. They wandered around the fair for a short while before returning home.

“Time to put on something more comfortable,” Remus said, unbuttoning his shirt and walking towards the bedroom.

Sirius followed him into the bedroom, thinking he would also get his jeans off but the moment he stepped inside the bedroom he couldn’t stop himself from quickly pressing his lips against Remus’s. Remus laughed and returned his slow kiss.

“I want you,” Sirius moaned into Remus’s ear, reaching behind him, grabbing his ass and pulling him against his body.

Sirius’s fingertips slid down the fuzz of Remus’s chest, thanks to his half unbuttoned shirt as their mouths met again. As they kissed, Sirius fumbled with the buttons, desperately wanting Remus naked and in his arms. Once the final button was undone Remus pulled back and flung the shirt off, while Sirius began to rub at his groin, the palm of his hand in awe of the hardness in Remus’s pants.

Remus grabbed for Sirius’s shirt, pulling it over his head then burying his face in the crook of Sirius’s neck. Sirius grabbed Remus’s ass as he pulled him close, feeling their erections rubbing against each other through their pants.

Sirius’s hands moved up Remus’s back, feeling the strength in his body while Remus’s full lips explored Sirius’s neckline. Sirius grinned and moved his mouth to Remus’s neck, showing him how skilled he was with his mouth. Remus gasped as Sirius began to kiss and suck down his neck and torso until he was finally on his knees, planting soft kisses just above the rim of his pants. Sirius smiled up at Remus as he unbuttoned and unzipped Remus’s pants with ease. Sirius licked his lips then pulled Remus’s boxers down, his cock popping into view.

Sirius’s eyes went wide. They had never seen each other fully naked before. Remus had sent him semi-nude pictures before but he had never seen this part of him before. He wasn’t sure what he had imagined his penis would look like but it certainly was a sight to behold. He wrapped his long fingers around the thick base of the shaft, slowly pulling them up to the head, which he squeezed, eliciting a soft moan.

Closing his eyes, he began to suck slowly with love, while his hands glided up and down the shaft, appreciating the softness of his foreskin. This wasn’t about getting Remus off, this was about showing his appreciation and desire for the man. Remus’s fingers gently stroked the top of Sirius’s hair, making part of Sirius wish Remus would take charge and be rough with him while another part thought there would be plenty of time for that later.

“Christ, Sirius. That’s _so_ good,” Remus said softly.

Sirius responded by taking Remus deep into his mouth, then slowly dragging his lips back up to and over the head, making Remus shiver and let out a, “Mmm.”

Sirius let time slip away as he worked Remus’s cock, almost startled when Remus warned him that he was going to come. Sirius pulled his mouth off quickly, seeing Remus’s cock twitch and drip a small stream of come from the tip.

“Woah. That was close,” Remus laughed.

“Sorry. Guess I got into it,” Sirius said, suddenly realizing his jaw was hurting.

“Shall we move to the bed?” Remus asked, stepping out of his pants and tossing his boxers aside.

Sirius nodded and began to remove his pants. He wasn’t well endowed like Remus but if Remus cared it didn’t show. As soon as Sirius reached the bed, Remus pulled him onto it, his mouth hungrily latching onto his cock.

“Oh, God!” Sirius called out, shocked at the power of Remus’s mouth.

Sirius squirmed as Remus’s hands clutched his ass, pulling Sirius deep into his mouth. It didn’t take Sirius long at all to reach the point where he needed to pull away, lest he come sooner than he wished. Sirius sat on the bed in front of Remus and kissed him. Remus fell back onto the bed and Sirius slid on top of him. Sirius ground his cock against Remus’s as they kissed deep and hard.

Sirius moved his mouth to Remus’s ear and said, “Let me ride you.”

“Are you sure?” Remus asked.

“Yes,” Sirius replied.

Remus rolled over, Sirius moving aside. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a bottle of lube. Remus poured a generous amount on his cock then handed the bottle to Sirius who put some on his own cock. Sirius lubed up a couple of fingers and fingered his own ass to make it slick.

Sirius set the bottle aside then crouched over Remus’s cock, guiding the head to his hole with a hand. Sirius gently pushed down on the tip, immediately loving the sensation as it began to stretch him. Slowly, he pushed down and pulled up, working it in until it was as deep as it could go.

Sirius smiled down at Remus and began to slide up and down on Remus’s cock. Remus reached down to stroke Sirius’s cock in rhythm with Sirius’s thrusts, his eyes focused on Sirius’s eyes the entire time. Remus really had such beautiful, brown eyes. But everything about him was beautiful. _Everything_.

Sirius gradually built up speed until Remus could no longer hold onto Sirius’s cock. Remus’s mouth hung open, small moans and grunts escaping from his lips. Sirius’s cock slapped against Remus’s belly and Sirius was pretty certain he could will himself to come right now if he wanted.

“Don’t hold back. I want you to come in me,” Sirius almost begged.

“OK,” Remus said and grabbed Sirius’s thighs, beginning to add some extra thrust himself.

Remus’s head slowly tilted back, his lips quivering, almost looking pained before he let out a deep, long moan, thrusting up and holding as his body strained.

“God! Sirius!” Remus cried out then looked up at Sirius and said, “I want you to come. You can come on me. Please come.”

Sirius grabbed his own cock and stroked it rapidly, quickly bringing himself to a loud grunting climax, spraying a stream of come up Remus’s torso, making Remus laugh. Sirius quickly fell onto him, not caring about the mess. They kissed and Sirius thought that this was all he had ever wanted. A life worth living for. A dream come true.

 

* * *

 

The next few days were a torrent of sex and romance. Sirius knew this level of passion wouldn’t hold up but he wanted every last bit of it he could get. And he got a great deal of it that week. On the Wednesday before Pride however, Remus revealed that he needed to go do some research for his newest book.

“Can I come with you?” Sirius asked.

“Will you be offended if I say no?” Remus replied.

“A little,” Sirius admitted.

Remus smirked. “I’m just going to look at a house. It’s been rumored to be haunted for as long as I remember and the old woman who owned the house has finally passed away. I’ve scheduled an appointment to look at it. I find I do my best creative thinking when I don’t have any distractions.”

“Are you saying I’m distracting?” Sirius said, posing sexily on the bed and throwing his hair back dramatically with a grin.

“That you are. But I promise when I get back we’ll go out on the town. You’ve seen plenty of my bedroom. There’s lots of interesting things out there,” Remus said, patting Sirius’s leg.

Sirius smiled though inside he still felt disappointed.

“I’ll text you when I get there and when I’m on my way back. I’m sure it won’t take long. But how often do you get a chance to take pictures in a haunted house?” Remus said with a wink and then he was gone.

A half hour later he got the text from Remus saying he had arrived at the house. Sirius lounged around and watched Netflix, trying not to watch his phone too much. Another half hour passed and there was nothing. Sirius felt a little anxious but tried to not worry about it. He had a long history of getting too anxious and overreacting when people didn’t text him back immediately. But after another half hour he found he couldn’t help himself.

He texted Remus, joking about how long he was taking. He waited a few minutes but there was no reply.

“Fuck. Where the fuck are you?” Sirius whispered at the phone.

Sirius tried to rationalize. Something could be wrong with his phone. Maybe Remus missed his bus. Maybe Remus missed several buses and traffic was terrible and something was wrong with his phone. But a tiny voice in the back of his head was telling him something terrible had happened. As the minutes passed, Sirius’s anxiety began to spiral out of control. He needed to do something. He needed to figure out what was going on.

He called Remus’s phone and got a message saying that it was out of service, his panic only worsening. His next step was to contact the realtor who had shown Remus the house, something that would’ve been easier if Remus had actually given him the address. Sirius felt guilty but he got onto Remus’s laptop, already having been told the password, and went to his email, desperately searching until he found emails sent between him and the realtor, finally providing him with the address.

Sirius went to Google Maps to find the directions via bus. He knew he would have to get change. There was a decent chance he’d get lost or take the wrong bus and end up in Canada or something but he desperately needed to act. Maybe on the way to the bus stop he would just bump into Remus and they would both laugh about how badly he had overreacted.

Sirius locked the door with Remus’s spare key and made his way to the bus stop, still constantly checking his phone. On the way there he frantically called the realtor but didn’t get a response. By some miracle or twist of fate, Sirius arrived at the house without having taken any wrong buses or gotten off at any wrong stops.

The house didn’t look especially scary. It was old for the area, two stories and sort of Victorian. He walked up to the steps, peering around as if he expected to find some sort of clue that would lead him to where Remus was. Instead, the second he set foot on the porch his phone rang. For half a second his heart skipped, thinking it must be Remus wondering where the hell Sirius was but instead it was just the realtor.

“Yes, hello, my name is Sirius Black. You showed my boyfriend a house this morning. I was wondering if you might know where he went after he left here?”

The realtor was silent for a moment before she said, “Oh, no, I don’t. Actually, I didn’t see him leave at all. I was looking at something upstairs and when I came downstairs he had already left.”

“He left?” Sirius asked in bewilderment.

“Yeah. I thought it was a little odd but…”

“Odd? I’d say it was rude and not at all like Remus.”

“Is there some sort of a problem I’m not aware of here, sir? It was a little odd but I’ve had people do things more inappropriate than that before if I’m being frank.”

Sirius sighed.

“I haven’t heard from him in nearly three hours. He texted me when he got here and promised he would text when he left to come home.”

“Oh dear. You should call the police,” the realtor said.

“I thought you had to wait like forty-eight hours or something,” Sirius said.

“No, that’s a myth. The police might not tear the city apart looking for your boyfriend but they will take your information and put an eye out for him,” she replied.

“OK. I’ll do that. Oh… can I ask a favor?” Sirius asked.

“What’s that, hon?”

“I’d like to take a look at the house.”

 

 

 


	2. I Could Be Dreaming

There was a knock on the door of Remus’s house. Sirius wiped his palms on his pants then stood up to open it. On the other side were a tall, dark-skinned man with glasses and a woman with dark-red hair and notably green eyes, both looking distressed.

“Hello. I’m Sirius,” he said.

“James Potter,” the man said and shook Sirius’s hand.

“I’m Lily,” the woman said.

Sirius stepped back and let them both inside. Sirius had made sure to post on social media to let everyone know that Remus was missing. Remus had definitely mentioned James and Lily Potter a great deal in the past so Sirius wasn’t surprised they were the first to show up.

“Have you heard anything?” James asked.

“No. I’m going to look at the house tomorrow. Properly, I mean. I was there when the police looked around but they didn’t find anything. But I just… need to look for myself. There’s something odd about this,” Sirius said, rubbing his stubbly chin.

“This isn’t like Remus,” Lily said, more to her husband than Sirius.

“No, it’s not. I’m scared shitless. That’s a new one for me, if I’m being honest,” James said, wringing his hands in front of him.

Sirius thought visiting with Remus’s friends would make him feel better but so far he was only feeling worse.

“Does he have any enemies? Any dark secrets he hasn’t told me?” Sirius asked.

James laughed.

“Dark secrets? Remus Lupin? Sure, sometimes he’s not always the most forthcoming but dark is not a word I would use to describe him,” James said.

“No. He’s a good man. Reliable. I’ve known Remus for twenty years. Trust me. He doesn’t have dark secrets,” Lily insisted.

Sirius sighed. The words ‘foul play’ were bouncing around in the background of his mind but he wasn’t willing to engage with them. The police at the very least said there were no signs of foul play or any sort of struggle. He just… disappeared off the face of the Earth.

“What are we going to tell Harry?” James asked his wife.

“Harry is our son,” Lily explained to Sirius then turned to James and said, “The truth. He’s fifteen. He can handle it.”

James only nodded.

“I can’t believe he’s gone. No. I won’t believe that. I’ll turn every last inch of Seattle upside down if I have to in order to find him. I’ll toss the Space Needle on its ass, I don’t care,” James growled.

“James, I’m sure the police are doing everything they ca-” Lily started.

“No! Like hell, they are! Fuck the Seattle PD. I don’t trust them at all,” James snapped.

“OK. I don’t either. But I don’t see what other choice we have, dear,” Lily replied.

“I’ll hire a private investigator. The best I can find. Someone out there knows where he is. Someone has seen him, seen _something_ ,” James declared.

Sirius felt increasingly out of place. All he could think about was that house. He needed to get in there but he wasn’t sure why.

“I don’t know. I have a good feeling about exploring that house,” Sirius said.

James gave Sirius an incredulous stare.

“Why? The police already searched it. He obviously left. And then something happened,” James said, not a trace of doubt in his voice.

“I don’t know. It’s just a… really odd house. Supposedly haunted. Part of me wonders… If Remus knew something. What? I don’t know, I don’t know,” Sirius said, clutching his head in his hands, his fingers dragging through his hair.

“Whatever. Look at the house. Maybe he’s trapped in the attic and the police didn’t notice somehow. Meanwhile, I’m going to throw some money at the problem. My dad always said a problem stops being a problem once you throw some money at it,” James said.

Lily gave James a very concerned look. She glanced at Sirius sympathetically as she rubbed her husband’s back.

“I don’t think looking at the house is a bad idea. It’s better than doing nothing. I’m sorry we’re having to meet under these terms, Sirius. Remus has spoke fondly of you. I was really looking forward to meeting you,” Lily said.

“Same for the both of you,” Sirius replied with a small smile.

“Are you hungry, James? Neither of us have eaten,” Lily said.

“I’m not hungry. We can get food if you want. I don’t think I can eat. Sirius, do you want to have lunch with us? Let’s get off on the right foot. Remus would want that,” James said, giving Sirius a look of regret.

“I don’t know how much I can eat either but I would love to try, thanks,” Sirius answered.

 

* * *

 

“Well, here we go,” the realtor said, unlocking the door then stepping through, Sirius following behind her.

“Huh. It looks nicer inside than I thought,” Sirius said, his voice echoing through the empty home.

“Yes, it’s been renovated a number of times,” she explained, the clomping of her heels on the wooden floors echoing through the house.

“What’s with all this gossip about it being haunted?” Sirius asked.

The realtor spun around to face him and laughed.

“You can’t be serious?” she said, placing her hands on her hips.

“Sirius Black, at your service,” Sirius winked.

“Oh. Right! You must get that all the time,” she said, shaking her head.

“Only my entire life,” Sirius groaned.

“You’re funny! Anyhow, no, it’s not haunted. I mean, between you and me, I don’t really believe in ghosts,” she explained.

“Me either. But I do believe my boyfriend disappeared while looking at this place,” Sirius said.

“Well, feel free to look around. Don’t you disappear on me too!” she said, then awkwardly chuckled under her breath.

“Ah, but you see then I would be reunited with him,” Sirius replied and walked towards a door on the back wall of the living room.

“That’s the basement,” the realtor said then added, “There’s nothing down there. I mean the water heater and breaker box but…”

“But what?” Sirius asked, opening the basement door and flipping the switch next to the door frame.

Sirius got an odd feeling as he stepped onto the stairs down to the basement. He couldn’t put his finger on it at first. It felt a bit like he was waking up. Or maybe it was falling asleep. It was strangely pleasant, either way.

He slowly walked down, the sensation only growing stronger until he set foot on the basement floor. He was certain he had a slight ringing in his ears but part of him thought he was perhaps imagining it.

“You’re right. There’s nothing to see down here,” Sirius called back up, shrugging and walking back up the stairs.

“Basements kind of give me the creeps,” the realtor admitted.

“Doesn’t seem helpful in your line of work,” Sirius said.

The realtor lifted her chin and clarified, “OK. That basement gives me the creeps.”

“Me too,” Sirius admitted.

Sirius continued to look around the house. It really was quite nice. He thought it was a shame it didn’t have any furnishings. It would cost a fortune just to furnish it.

Sirius had always been more afraid of attics than basements, personally, but the only thing scary about the attic in this house was just how thick the dust was. He was almost afraid to inhale.

The realtor seemed a little relieved when he met her back downstairs in the kitchen, having not disappeared.

“So, what do you think?” she asked.

“I think I want to make an offer,” Sirius said.

“What? Really? Oh. OK,” she said.

Sirius would have to sell his home and deplete most of his savings but he knew this house and that basement were central to solving the whereabouts of Remus Lupin. He could feel it.

 

* * *

 

The following weeks were an unusual time in the life of Sirius Black. There was no sign of Remus. None at all. The longer Remus was gone, the more sad and anxious Sirius felt. Meanwhile, Sirius’s offer on the house was accepted by the family of the old woman who had owned it before she passed away. And so began the process of relocating himself from Maine to Seattle. Of top concern was transferring all of his art across the country safely. His home in Maine had never really had the space to display as much of his art as he wanted but this new house was nearly three times as large.

Sirius tried his best to ignore the basement. He did sweep up and plop some boxes down but otherwise he left the door closed. He quickly became friends with James and Lily Potter as well as their son Harry, who proved to look exactly like his father but with his mother’s eyes.

“You’ve really cleaned up, man,” James noted.

“It wasn’t cheap. My savings aren’t looking so rosy. I’m probably going to have to get an actual grownup job. I can’t remember the last time I had a proper job. Time to pull out those old graphic design skills, I guess,” Sirius said.

“Good luck. If you end up on your ass, Lils and I will take you in, though. Remus would want… that,” James said, his voice turning sad.

“Thanks,” Sirius said.

“Remus’s parents are trying to figure out what to do with his home. His taxes are paid for this year but if he doesn’t show up before they are due again…” Lily said.

James hung his head. Things weren’t getting any easier for him. They had hired that private investigator and so far she had turned up nothing at all. She had even seemed suspicious of Sirius. He supposed that was fair. He had showed up right before Remus mysteriously vanished.

“Hey. Can I ask you guys… something strange?” Sirius asked.

“As long as you’re OK with a getting a strange answer,” Lily smirked.

“How does… the basement feel to you guys?” Sirius asked.

Lily shrugged and walked over to the door. She opened it, flipped on the light and stepped down the stairs.

“It’s cold. Like a basement,” Lily said, her voice echoing up.

James shrugged and joined her.

“Yeah. It’s cold. But not like… unusually so?” James said and then they both came upstairs.

Sirius frowned but said, “Thanks.”

“Do you think there’s something out of sorts?” Lily asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m imagining things,” Sirius admitted, though he really didn’t believe that was the case.

“Housewarming party this weekend?” Lily grinned.

James laughed and said, “Sorry, Lils loves throwing parties.”

“I don’t know many people around here. Some online acquaintances, I guess. I do have some family down in Olympia. I’m sure my cousin Andromeda would come if I invited her. I feel guilty that I never even told her I was going to be around,” Sirius replied.

“Well, James and I know everybody. Literally everyone. But we’ll try and only invite the best,” Lily winked.

“Fair enough,” Sirius said.

 

* * *

 

The housewarming party had gone better than Sirius expected. It had felt good to spend some time catching up with his cousin. Since Remus had disappeared, Sirius had felt very lonely. Part of him regretted not going to Pride the weekend after Remus disappeared but his heart couldn’t bear it. He would’ve spent the entire weekend thinking about how Remus was supposed to be there with him. Next year, he promised himself. By next summer he would be healed. He needed to believe that.

For now, he still found himself looking online for hints of Remus. Searching for him in crowds, trying to find out if he had any secret social media accounts. There was nothing. No hints of him at all. It was a waste of time and James Potter had hired someone who was doing all of that and more. He needed to try to move on, somehow.

Weeks passed, which gradually turned into months. Sirius started a new job and upped his efforts to get his art more attention. If it weren’t for the basement he might’ve been able to let the memory of what had brought him here slowly fade to the back of his mind. Instead, he only felt more and more drawn to it. He swore at night he could hear a faint ethereal humming. It was somehow familiar but he couldn’t place the source of his recognition.

He began to research the history of the house. The woman who had owned it before had lived there her entire life. The house was surprisingly over a hundred years old, kept standing through all the years thanks to renovations and restorations. Very little of the house was original anymore.

The biggest surprise of all was something that sent chills down Sirius’s spine. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t known this from the very start. Surely, someone would’ve mentioned! The previous owner of the house didn’t pass away; she disappeared. She had disappeared nearly a decade before and was only declared dead very recently, with her family no longer wanting to keep the house in the family anymore.

Sirius immediately called the realtor.

“Why didn’t you tell me the previous owner disappeared? Did you tell the police?” Sirius asked.

“The police knew. Honestly, I assumed you knew. It didn’t seem important. She was over ninety when she disappeared. Wherever she is… well, she’s probably not alive. She had dementia. It’s sad to think about but this is a dark, sad world,” the realtor said, her tone oddly dismissive.

Sirius sighed.

“Sure. OK. Bye,” he said, sharply hanging up.

That night Sirius dreamt about Remus. He’d dreamt about him loads of times but never like this. It was like he could feel him, so close but far away. That ethereal hum of the basement was louder than ever, almost deafening. He could almost touch Remus’s fingertips through a dark, blue haze but he woke up just before they met.

It was still night and the hum of the basement seemed to be moving through everything, creating a sound almost like a tuning fork. In a rush of fear and longing, he threw the covers off himself and dashed downstairs to the basement, not fully understanding what he was doing.

Blue light shone through the edges around the door, almost blinding him as he opened it. There was no use in turning on the basement light as blue light was all he could see anyway. He felt almost pulled downstairs, like invisible strings were gripping his wrists. He moved further and further down until he stepped onto the floor, the pull making him feel like he had just been turned inside out.

Then suddenly the light flashed and disappeared, the room feeling cold as the hum dissipated. He realized he wasn’t breathing so he exhaled then inhaled deep. Something felt strange. It was that sensation he felt the first time he had felt the pull to the basement but magnified tenfold.

Sirius fumbled around until he found the railing for the stairs, walking up slowly until he went face first into the door.

“What the fuck? Why is this closed?” Sirius asked as he opened the basement door.

If the closed door was a shock, what was on the other side of it was a bigger shock. The house was suddenly dusty and filled with furniture that didn’t belong to him. Odd light beamed in through open windows, like brighter moonlight.

Sirius walked to the front door and poked his head out. He gasped at the sight of the outdoors. Everything was off. He noticed it all at once but it took a few moments for his mind to process all the wrong. The night sky was the wrong shade of blueish-purple and there were no stars. There was no moon either, despite the bright haze of moonlight shining on everything.

Houses were painted idiosyncratically and everything seemed weird and distorted, like abstract art. The houses leaned in odd directions. They were the same houses from the neighborhood he was used to but… wrong. Like a dream.

Sirius stepped out onto the porch, then down the front steps to get a better look. Just then a dog came swimming by, through the air, barking at Sirius in a way that sounded friendly.

“This is it. I’m having a nervous breakdown. No… I’m still dreaming. I’m definitely still dreaming,” Sirius insisted.

“Of course you are,” a soft voice said next to him.

Sirius yelped then turned to face the voice, which seemed to belong to a teenage girl with very long straggly dirty-blonde hair and a small smile on her curious face. She seemed familiar somehow.

“I’m dreaming,” Sirius said.

“Yes. We all are here. This is where dreams live,” she replied.

“Who are you?” Sirius asked.

“Me? I’m just a dream. But in your world my name is Luna. Luna Lovegood. I’m a friend of Harry Potter’s. We’ve met,” Luna said.

“Oh, right. I remember you. Nice girl. A bit odd, but aren’t we all,” Sirius grinned.

“Indeed we are,” Luna replied, grinning back at him.

“Am… I just a dream?” Sirius asked nervously.

“No. You’re real. You’re a dreamer. Dreamers imagine dreams into existence,” Luna smiled.

“Did I imagine you into existence?” Sirius asked.

Luna laughed.

“Don’t be silly. I’m Luna’s dream. She’s connected to this place too. Her mom is here. At least she thinks she is. She used to work for the woman who owned that house,” Luna said, pointing at the house behind them.

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry for your… erm, her loss,” Sirius said.

“Thank you. Well, I suppose you’ll be off to find Remus,” Luna said with a smile.

“You know why I’m here?” Sirius asked.

“Yes. Remus left me a message to give to you,” Luna said, then pulled some folded paper out from the pocket of her pants and handed it over.

“Thank you,” Sirius said and opened the paper up.

Inside was a note:

 

 

> _Dearest Sirius, I don’t know if you will follow me into this world but others I have spoken to, including the girl who gave you this note have told me that those with connections to this place can follow the ones they love through. You have probably spent time near one of this world’s portals. When I first came to that house I was immediately drawn to the basement. You see, I remembered the hum from my childhood. There was this place out on the woods. I remember it so vividly. A clearing with a pond and an old log to sit on. As a boy I would come there to read._
> 
> _I always thought the hum was something I imagined. I was wrong. You too must have a connection. Being near each other strengthened it and I believe that’s what allowed me to enter this world._

 

Sirius stopped reading and looked up at the sky. He remembered now. His grandfather’s home. He often got locked up in the attic when he misbehaved. He never really minded. Any chance to be away from his parents was ideal and there were all sorts of weird old antiques kept up there. And that humming. He never could place the source back then either. He went back to the note:

 

 

> _When I entered the world I was, as I am sure you are now, shocked by what I saw. But things only got more shocking. This world is connected to dreams, which means it is also connected to nightmares. Something is poisoning this world, uniting the nightmares under a single, spreading force. The dreams are helpless against the nightmares but we… we can affect things! You may not realize it yet, but in this world the dreamers can change things. Those with creative minds like ours are especially well suited to this place._
> 
> _You may find this unbelievable but I, with the help of the dreams, vanquished the nightmares from Seattle. You may laugh but I’m a bit of a hero._

 

“Is this true? Did he really save Seattle?” Sirius asked Luna.

“Yes. He was so brave. A creative mind really is a wonderful thing. I wish my dreamer was here. Her mind is beautiful,” Luna said wistfully.

Sirius nodded and returned to the note:

 

 

> _As of the writing of this letter, I have been on this world for years. I didn’t do the things I did overnight. It took time to rally the dreams and send out the message that help had arrived. This is important because I want you to understand why I didn’t return to you. Time passes strangely on this world. I’m not sure how long it has been for you but… I couldn’t exactly count on the fact that you’d be waiting for me. And what’s more… I knew if I told you what was happening, you’d follow me to this world and if something happened to you here… I would feel responsible._
> 
> _Still… I can’t deny the possibility that a sharp, inquisitive mind such as yours may find his way to this world anyway. In addition to this note, I have provided a map showing you the planned path I have taken. The final destination is Dallas, Texas, the heart of the nightmares._

 

Sirius pulled the map out and examined it. Remus had noted city by city the path he was taking to get there. Of course, at this point there was no telling how far along Remus was. He could be anywhere at this point.

“Yes, but how am I supposed to find you?” Sirius barked at the note.

“I can help you,” Luna offered.

“Luna… I couldn’t possibly endanger you…” Sirius started but she laughed.

“Endanger me? I’m a dream, silly. My dreamer is safe back on your world. I can find Remus because all dreams are connected. The closer we get to him the more easily I can find him. You should finish the note,” she said.

 

 

> _The girl who gave you this note will offer to help you. I leave it up to you what you decide to do next. I can’t stop you from following in my footsteps. I do suggest you don’t take the path all the way through the dreams. Now that you know the hum of dreams you can hear the entry ways back into our world. There are more than you can imagine. The longer you stay here the harder it will be to get back._
> 
> _Which is something I must finally confess. I am no longer able to return to our world. I made some quick pops back into our world in my battle against the nightmares in Seattle, always careful not to pop in anywhere you might see me. Before I wrote this note I tried again. I can’t do it. I don’t know if it’s my exposure to the nightmares or just… a hold the dreaming does to you. I should’ve spent more time out of this world. If I would have known…_
> 
> _Alas, I recommend you don’t make the same mistake. If you find entry ways, pop back out for a time to ensure you maintain that connection. That is… if you choose to follow me at all. You may choose to return to our world and let me become a memory. For myself, I must continue this quest. The dreams are connected to each other and they are connected to the real world. If the nightmares win then nightmares is all anyone will have. The dark things that live on this world are nasty indeed._
> 
> _After all this time, I still love you. I would give anything to see you again. But I don’t want you to come to harm. I never have. Still… I have a suspicion that we will see each other again. I saw it in a dream._
> 
> _Sincerely, with eternal love, Remus Lupin._

 

“You’re going after him,” Luna said, an observance, not a question.

“Of course I am,” Sirius replied.

“I want to help you. My dreamer is fond of Mr. Lupin. I think helping him will make her happy, even if she never really knows what happened,” Luna said.

“You swear you cannot be harmed? The idea of putting a child in harm’s way is antithetical to my beliefs,” Sirius said firmly.

“I can be harmed but I’m not a child. Not really. I’m a dream. If I’m harmed I’ll fade away and be reborn into a new dream,” Luna said.

Sirius sighed. It was difficult to admit that he needed her help.

“The map says he went to Portland from here. What can you tell me about the situation there?” Sirius asked.

“Portland is clear. He met some other dreamers there… they didn’t all make it, unfortunately. But the nightmares were vanquished,” Luna said.

“The map shows that he was hitting some small places in Northern California before going to Nevada,” Sirius said.

“Nevada is bad. The nightmares only get worse as you get closer to Texas. But Nevada is mostly desert. I don’t believe Mr. Lupin has made it past Las Vegas. He may be somewhere in Nevada hiding out. I should be able to tell once we are closer,” Luna said.

Sirius nodded and said, “So… How on Earth do we travel? Do cars work?”

“Once you learn to use your imagination all options will be open to you. Cars work if you want them to,” Luna said.

Sirius walked over to the driveway of a neighbor and tried to open a car door. It wouldn’t open.

“You can’t use those cars. Try to imagine one,” Luna said.

Sirius laughed and shook his head.

“What kind of car? I’ve never been a car person,” Sirius admitted.

“Just close your eyes, reach out and imagine a car. The kind of car you would want for an adventure like this,” Luna said.

“OK… I’ll try,” Sirius said, closing his eyes and aiming his hand at the road.

He concentrated hard, feeling a warmth move through his body. His hand moved gracefully, almost like he was painting with his mind. Somehow he knew when he was done and opened his eyes. There before him was an electric blue SUV of no particular brand, though he thought it perhaps resembled some models from Toyota.

“Cool,” Sirius said.

“Very pretty,” Luna said and opened the passenger door.

“Is this environmentally friendly?” Sirius asked, opening the driver’s side door.

“There’s no environment here so I suppose not,” Luna said, putting on her seatbelt.

“There’s no environment? Then what the fuck am I breathing?” Sirius asked.

“Whatever it is you imagine you’re breathing,” Luna smiled.

“Fair enough,” Sirius said and put his hands on the wheel before realizing, “I don’t have a key.”

Just then an engine began thrumming.

“Oh. Well… We’re off then, I suppose. Too bad I don’t have some tunes,” Sirius said, fiddling with the radio.

Just then music popped on:

 

_Karma, karma, karma, karma, karma chameleon_

_You come and go, you come and go_

_Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams_

_Red, gold, and green, red, gold, and green_

 

“Oh, I love this song!” Luna declared.

“Me too,” Sirius chuckled and the car began to move at the mere command of a thought.

 


	3. Reunited

Sirius had done a great many things in his thirty-six years of life. He had seen many places and driven around a not insignificant amount of the continental United States. He had not, however, ever driven from Seattle to Portland and didn’t have a real sense of how long the drive would take.

The drive felt very long and yet it seemed to pass by as if no time had passed at all. Luna was sometimes very quiet for long stretches before suddenly having a great deal to say in short bursts. Luna made sure he didn’t get lost but really, he only needed to follow I-5 south and it would take him straight into Portland.

There wasn’t any other traffic, though there were plenty of strange sights. Mount Rainier seemed to now be taller than the very sky itself, a surreal and awe inspiring sight.

“Is the sun going to come up?” Sirius asked as they passed Olympia, Washington.

“There is no sun here. Nothing is real,” Luna pointed out.

“Right. Don’t you miss the sun?” he asked.

“No. How could I miss something I’ve never really known?” she replied.

Sirius inhaled then said, “Fair enough.”

Sirius wasn’t sure what he expected to find in Portland but it wasn’t much. Faint dreams wisped along the streets like half-forgotten ghosts. Luna spoke to some of them while Sirius wandered around. Remus’s note had been correct. He could hear a hum and see a blue glow guiding his way to an entry back into the waking world.

He thought it would be sad if he returned only to find out this all had been a dream. Maybe he was asleep on the floor of his basement. Maybe he had never even left the bedroom. By the time he found the spot, in an alley behind a restaurant, he had only just realized he might lose Luna if he wasn’t careful. But it was too late and he felt that sensation of being turned inside out, suddenly appearing in early morning Portland, the noise of people and traffic overwhelming him.

“Fuck. I didn’t think this through at all,” he chided himself.

He reached into his pocket, quickly realizing that back in the dreaming he wasn’t wearing what he had been wearing what he left the real world, meaning now he was back in his pyjamas, much to his embarrassment.

“Morning,” a man with a very bushy beard said to Sirius seconds before Sirius willed himself back into the dream world.

“Luna!” Sirius called out.

“I’m here,” she said, suddenly appearing in front of him.

“How long was I gone?” Sirius asked.

“I don’t know. Not long, but time is sort of funny here,” she admitted.

“I just wanted to call my friend… his friends. James and Lily,” Sirius said.

“Oh, I like them. Well, my dreamer does,” Luna said.

“Me too. I like them a lot. I just wanted to tell them… Something. I don’t know. I just don’t want them to worry about me,” Sirius said.

“They’ll do that anyway. That’s the trouble with loving someone. Hurts when you think they aren’t OK,” Luna said.

“You’re very right. I guess we have to hit the next destination,” Sirius said, surprised to find the car was right on the road near the alley, and now a few blocks over from where he left it.

 

* * *

 

“I just realized I haven’t been hungry. I haven’t eaten in… well, I don’t know how long’s passed. I don’t even know where we are anymore,” Sirius said.

He knew they were somewhere in the northernmost parts of California but had started relying on Luna’s directions since they departed from the I-5. The tight, winding paths were disorienting in the dark. They were somewhere up in the mountains. He could feel himself growing anxious, afraid that at any moment something might jump out in front of him.

“I don’t like it up here. I just need to get through this,” Sirius said, gritting his teeth.

“You should try to relax. You’ll draw in the nightmares,” Luna warned.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just nervous because it’s dark,” Sirius insisted, suddenly realizing they had just slammed into a guard rail and were now careening into a dark chasm below.

“No, no, oh God, what have done! This can’t be happening!” Sirius screamed, closing his eyes then opening them to find they were back on the road.

“What the fuck?” Sirius screeched.

“Nightmares,” Luna said softly.

“I didn’t think they would be like… be like…” Sirius started.

“Like nightmares?” Luna suggested.

Sirius sighed, squeezing hard on the wheel of the car.

“The nightmares take many forms. They play into your anxieties. But you did good. Most people are killed by the nightmares pretty quickly,” Luna said.

“Really? And they all die… for real?” Sirius asked.

“I’m not really sure. I hope they don’t. Maybe they just lose their connection to this world,” Luna said.

“What about your dreamer? How come she isn’t here but you are?” Sirius asked.

“I’m not sure she knows about this place. She didn’t spend a lot of time at that house. She is thinking about it more these days. Maybe that’s why I’m here. Maybe someday I’ll meet her. That would be nice,” she said.

Sirius smiled at her and carried on the road, feeling better now.

 

* * *

 

The landscape seemed to shift from forest to desert quickly. Sirius wasn’t sure what he really knew about Reno, Nevada. He had only ever been to Vegas before. Something about Reno seemed more sinister than the other places they had been. Despite the wide openness of the desert, the shadows seemed ever darker.

“Are there nightmares here? Can you tell?” Sirius asked.

“No. Not nightmares. Just the memories of nightmares. A battle fought not long ago. I can feel him. He’s not here but… If we can get past the city I think I will know where he is. Can we park? I need to talk to the dreams,” Luna said.

Sirius parked next to the large clown sign for Circus Circus. Luna hopped out of the car and whispered in a language he couldn’t understand to the flickering dreams. She came back with a big grin and said, “Remus is in Tonopah. It’s a mining town up in the mountains between here and Las Vegas. He’s planning the battle against the nightmares in Vegas.”

“Really? Thank you, Luna,” Sirius said, clutching her hands in gratitude as she got back in the car.

“You’re welcome,” Luna said.

As they left Reno and nearby Sparks, Sirius began to feel that anxious feeling from the winding paths of Northern California. It wasn’t so dark in the desert but it was more peaceful than anywhere else they had been. He thought even back in the real world during daylight he would still find the stillness unsettling.

Suddenly, the car engine sputtered and the car stopped.

“Shit,” Sirius said.

“Don’t panic. Just imagine it away,” Luna said.

“I was just thinking how much it would suck to break down out here, with no towns for miles,” Sirius grumbled.

“Imagine it away, Mr. Black! The longer you give into the nightmare, the harder it will be to make it go away,” Luna said, sounding truly distressed for the first time since they met.

“What’s that?” Sirius asked, pointing out at the desert.

Something large with numerous legs and shiny eyes was flitting about, like the acid trip version of a tarantula. He could hear the ground rumble. It must be so heavy, he thought. His heart started to slam, thinking what its doubtlessly gigantic pincers would feel like, slamming into his chest, pumping him full of venom.

It had spotted them. The rumble of the ground grew stronger and he closed his eyes. He could still hear the rumble. It was getting louder and louder. He wouldn’t open his eyes. If he died it would be with his eyes closed. The worst sound he had ever heard screeched as something slammed into the side of the car. Sirius took a deep breath, let warmth fill him and another screech was quickly stifled.

He exhaled as the car engine restarted. He turned to look at Luna who was staring at him in shock.

“I’m sorry. I choked under pressure,” Sirius said.

“I was only worried for you. And Mr. Lupin. He would be so sad,” Luna said.

“You’re a good kid, Luna,” Sirius said.

“I’m not really a kid… or a person. But thank you!” she smiled.

 

* * *

 

As they pulled into Tonopah they spotted an unmoving figure leaning on a walking stick and wearing a brown trench coat. He looked haggard and unpleasant. Sirius stopped the car in front of a speed limit sign.

“Is this a nightmare? It doesn’t feel like a nightmare? Tell me he’s not a dream,” Sirius whispered to Luna.

“He’s not a nightmare or a dream. He’s like you. He’s real,” Luna explained.

Sirius quickly got out of the car and the figure slammed the walking stick down, creating a small boom and a flash of light that illuminate Sirius.

“Who are you and what business do you have in Tonopah?” the man asked with a harsh voice.

“My name is Sirius Black. I’m looking for my boyfriend, Remus Lupin,” Sirius said.

The man stared daggers through Sirius. He did not seem impressed.

“What makes you think there’s anyone by that name here?” the man asked.

“He left me a map. And I have a guide. A dream named Luna Lovegood,” Sirius said, gesturing back to the car.

“Are you sure she’s a dream? She could be a nightmare. The best nightmares are also the worst. They lure you into thinking they are a dream then destroy you when you aren’t looking. Man has no greater fear than betrayal,” the man declared.

Sirius suddenly felt panicked. Luna, as if knowing she was being discussed, got out of the car and came over.

“I’m not a nightmare,” she said.

“That’s exactly what a nightmare would say,” the man quipped, waving a hand dismissively in her direction.

“Isn’t there some way of knowing?” Sirius asked.

“Of course there is,” the man replied then blew through a whistle.

Suddenly streams of light came over the hills around Tonopah. Sirius gasped at the beauty of what must’ve been millions and millions of dreams rushing their way like a flowing river. Sirius felt tears welling up in his eyes as they passed over and around them, swirling and twirling in a symphony of joy.

As they dispersed, Sirius discovered he was shaking. He had never experienced something so beautiful before. Even the unpleasant stranger seemed a little less grumpy for just a moment before declaring, “You’re lucky. She’s not a nightmare.”

“I said I wasn’t,” Luna declared, sounding annoyed.

Sirius smiled at her and she smiled back.

“Come on. I’ll take you to Lupin,” the man said.

Sirius started to walk back towards the car but the man said, “No. Leave the car. You don’t need it now.”

“But-” Sirius started then the man slammed the walking stick down again.

Space felt bent and elastic, like he had just been shot out of a slingshot. When it stopped, they were all standing in front of a sign that read Clown Motel.

“What is it with this state and clowns?” Sirius asked.

“Don’t worry. I don’t care for Nevada either,” the man said.

“What was your name, by the way?” Sirius asked.

“Moody. Alastor Moody,” the man said, reluctantly offering Sirius a hand to shake.

“Pleased to meet you,” Sirius said, shaking his hand.

Moody nodded and they walked towards the motel. There were a surprising number of people standing around, talking and giving them curious glances.

“He’s there in that room,” Moody said, gesturing with his walking stick at room 111.

“Thank you,” Sirius said and walked towards the room, his heart slamming in his chest.

With trepidation he tapped on the door. Nothing happened for a moment but then the door opened to Remus Lupin standing there, his mouth agape, looking exactly as he did the last time Sirius saw him.

“Sirius. It’s really you?” Remus said, his brown eyes already brimming with tears.

“Just as real as you,” Sirius replied, Remus gripping his arms and squeezing hard.

Remus’s lips quivered then he embraced Sirius hard, sobbing against his chest. Sirius felt no choice but to join his boyfriend in tears.

“You came. You came. You really came. I can’t believe it. You came!” Remus shouted and laughed through his sobs.

“I did. That I did,” Sirius whispered, rubbing Remus’s back

“Come. Sit down with me. Tell me everything,” Remus said, stepping back with the brightest grin Sirius had ever seen.

So they sat down and Sirius did tell him everything. Everything from realizing he had gone missing, to traveling to Portland, to the encounter with the nightmare in the desert.

“Sirius, you need to check back in with the real world. Especially as you’ve encountered two nightmares. Don’t end up stuck here like me,” Remus insisted.

“All right. I will the next time I encounter one of the spots,” Sirius said.

“There’s one here in town. Just past the casino not far from here. You just walk right past it and it’s up on a hill,” Remus said.

“How come people don’t just… fall through those?” Sirius said.

“It doesn’t work like that. You need a connection. You have to spend a lot of time near an entry way. And some people are just more susceptible for reasons none of us understand,” Remus said.

“Will you walk with me?” Sirius asked, laying a hand on Remus’s.

“Of course,” Remus said.

“Mr. Lupin!” Luna shouted as they went out into the parking lot.

“Hello, Luna. Thank you for bringing my boyfriend to me,” Remus said.

Luna ran over and gave Remus a hug then let them go to their destination alone.

“What do I do once I’m on the other side? I didn’t have anything useful on me when I went through,” Sirius said.

“Don’t worry. Some of our people are on the other side in Tonopah. I want you to say a word to the man at the desk of the Clown Motel. He’ll know exactly what to do,” Remus said.

“OK. Well, what’s the word,” Sirius asked.

Remus leaned up to Sirius’s ear and whispered the word.

“Vold-” Sirius started but Remus clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Don’t say it! Never say that word on this world. Not until the nightmares are defeated. Swear to me you will never say that word here!” Remus insisted, seeming frantic.

“I won’t. I promise,” Sirius said, feeling unnerved.

“Good. Good,” Remus said and they carried on to the hill.

“I’ll be here waiting. And Sirius: please don’t tell James and Lily where we’ve gone. They’ll try to follow us here. I don’t think they’ll be successful but… Let’s not risk it, OK,” Remus said.

Sirius nodded and let the entry way take him. Harsh sunlight hit Sirius quickly in the Tonopah of the real world. He quickly began to run to the Clown Motel, just barely dodging honking traffic. Someone was waiting ahead of him at the front desk of the motel. Once they were gone, Sirius stepped up to the man and whispered, “Voldemort.”

The man solemnly nodded and handed Sirius a cell phone. Sirius was relieved at how fast he remembered Lily Potter’s number.

“Hello?” Lily’s confused voice answered on the other end.

“Lily. It’s Sirius,” Sirius said.

“Oh? What the hell number is that?” she asked.

“Never mind that. I just wanted to let you know that I’m all right. And… and,” Sirius stammered, unsure what else he should say.

“…You don’t sound all right,” Lily said.

“I just wanted to say… I’m all right. And… and Remus is all right,” Sirius said.

The man behind the desk gave Sirius a panicked look and Sirius stepped outside.

“Hey, don’t take off with that!” the man shouted, but Sirius ignored him.

“What? Did you say Remus is all right? Where is he? James, Sirius says he’s with Remus!” Lily shouted.

“What? What? What the fuck, give me the phone!” James shouted, somewhere in the room with Lily.

“No. Hang on, James! Now, Sirius, where are you?” Lily asked.

“I’m in Tonopah. Nevada. A few hours from Las Vegas,” Sirius said, knowing he shouldn’t.

A hand suddenly grabbed Sirius’s elbow and he easily wrestled free, turning around to stare down at the man from the front desk.

“You’ll jeopardize the mission!” the man said but Sirius just gave him the finger and walked away.

“What was that? What mission?” Lily asked.

“I can’t explain that,” Sirius said.

“Can we talk to Remus?” Lily asked.

“No. But he’s fine, I promise you,” Sirius said and on the other end he heard the phone changing hands.

“Let me talk to, Remus, Sirius!” James demanded, sounding surprisingly intimidating.

“I can’t. He’s not here,” Sirius said.

“You motherfucker! What did you do to him?” James shouted.

“I didn’t do anything! I have found him! I’m going to bring him back. I just wanted you to know he’s OK,” Sirius said.

“I’ll fucking kill you. I swear to God,” James shouted while Lily took the phone back and said, “I hope you’re telling the truth, Sirius.”

“I am. Remus and I are headed to Las Vegas soon. We’re going to-” Sirius started but the phone was yanked out of his hand by the man from the front desk, who now had a couple more figures with him.

The man hung up the phone and just stared at Sirius.

“Fuck you,” Sirius said and walked back over to the entry way.

Once back in the dreaming he was quickly greeted by an embrace from Remus.

“How did it go?” Remus asked.

“Good. I just let them know I was safe and not to worry about me,” Sirius lied.

“Great. Come. We have a battle to plan,” Remus said.

 

* * *

 

A short while later a dozen or so people were gathered in Remus’s motel room. It was a little stuffy but no one else seemed to mind. A map of Las Vegas was spread out on the bed.

“If our communications with the dreams is correct, Las Vegas is more infested with nightmares than any other city on this world, aside from perhaps Dallas. Taking down Vegas will be a big blow to their side. But it won’t be easy. Every city I’ve led a battle against has had significant casualties. But I’ve never faced anything like this. Most of you have been found in small places where the nightmares haven’t fully taken over. You might not be ready for this,” Remus explained.

“If the stakes are as big as we’ve been led to believe… I’m all in,” a dark-haired woman declared.

“They are. Our agents on the outside believe there are those working for nightmares out there,” Remus said.

“Once we are in Vegas just closing your eyes and wishing the nightmares away won’t be good enough. If you want to survive you’re going to have to get… creative,” Moody stated.

“I have three black belts,” a blonde-haired man insisted.

Moody gave him a disgusted look and shook his head.

“This isn’t some horror film you saw as a kid. You’re going to need to truly harness dreams,” Moody said, looking straight at Sirius for some reason.

“Can’t we practice?” Sirius asked.

“We’re just about to. But I thought I should tell everyone something: there is a nightmare in this room,” Moody warned.

There was silence and then the woman from earlier said, “What?”

“Nightmare. In this room. Doesn’t anybody listen anymore?” Moody grumbled.

Eyes darted around the room then suddenly a man standing in the back corner shrieked as dark wings, claws and snarling teeth appeared on a figure that seemed too large for the room.

“Fuck!” Sirius shouted, as the beast swung, knocking everyone back.

Moody did nothing, just stepping out of the motel room.

“This is a test, right? Just a test,” the man with three black belts said.

“If this is a test then that thing sure as hell doesn’t know it,” the dark-haired woman shouted as it came towards her.

She rolled out of the way then crossed her arms in front of her face, a shield of light forming in front of her for just long enough for the beast to swing at her. It made contact with the shield then was knocked back.

“Everyone out!” she shouted and they all ran out of the motel room.

The beast roared, breaking its way through the wall.

“Guess I won’t be staying in that room again tonight,” Remus lamented.

The dark-haired woman was standing with assurance, an armor of light forming around her.

“Cool,” she said, a sword of light appearing her hand that she then swung at the beast.

Everyone else seemed to be trying to concentrate. Sirius wondered what he could imagine. He remembered how he made made the car, how easy it had felt, just like painting on a canvas. He extended his hand, feeling like time was slowing down as the beast battled the dark-haired woman.

He began to feel himself lifting off the ground. Everyone turned to look at him, seeming just as shocked as he was. Sirius felt a bit like a superhero. He only needed a cape. He lifted his hands into the air, feeling them getting hot, his fingertips tingling. With a swift motion he swung down towards the beast, freshly knocked back by the dark-haired woman’s shield, sending a blast of blue light against it. The beast made a horrible sound then exploded in shadows which quickly dispersed.

Sirius dropped back to the ground and fell down to his knees, breathing hard.

“Holy shit,” Sirius said.

Remus smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

“Congratulations, Sirius Black. You passed. With flying colors, I’d say,” Moody said.

“Wait. What?” Sirius said, standing up to a smiling crowd.

Remus got an apologetic look and said, “Yeah… Sorry. Everyone goes through that. We can’t exactly send everyone to Las Vegas just so they can get eaten as soon as they set foot in the city.”

“Don’t worry. We all go through it. Hi, I’m Meghan. Meghan McCormack,” the dark-haired woman said.

“Hi. You’re amazing!” Sirius said as he shook her hand.

“Yeah. I’m pretty cool. Remus has told me… well, he’s told everyone a lot about you. I never thought we’d actually meet. That’s neat,” Meghan said.

“Wait, so you destroy a motel room every time?” Sirius asked.

“Oh? That? That’s nothing,” Remus said and stepped towards the room.

Remus was very still as blue light filled the motel then disappeared, the room appearing as it was before the nightmare.

“So that was a real nightmare?” Sirius asked.

“Yeah. Moody lures them here. He’s been trapped in the dreaming for a long time. Like… a really long time,” the blonde-haired man said.

Moody scowled and walked away.

“But yeah. We’ve been planning this battle for a while now. I’m sorry we tricked you. I mean not super sorry but like… well, you know,” Meghan said and laughed.

“No worries,” Sirius said.

“Well, let’s leave these two alone,” Meghan said and the group all said goodbye and wandered off.

“I wonder where Luna is,” Sirius asked, looking around.

“Luna is a dream. She’s probably in the hills with the other dreams,” Remus said.

“Have you heard anything about her mother?” Sirius asked.

Remus shook his head.

“I remember Pandora Lovegood. Lovely woman. Funny. I was sad when she disappeared,” Remus said.

“I was sad when you disappeared,” Sirius said.

“Well, stay the night with me and I’ll make it up to you,” Remus said, moving close.

“But we don’t need sleep here,” Sirius said.

“Who said anything about sleep?” Remus said and leaned up into Sirius’s mouth.

It somehow felt better than any kiss Sirius had ever had. It was like there was a magical thread between them. Perhaps there was.

“Do you want to find out what happens when two people make love in the dreaming?” Remus whispered in Sirius’s ear.

“Well, I was going to read the paper but I guess that can wait,” Sirius joked as Remus led him into the room.

 


	4. Viva Las Vegas

Las Vegas was quiet as the group approached. Even back in the real world, Las Vegas had seemed strange to Sirius, this ridiculous brightly lit fabrication in the middle of the desert. It didn’t seem right. It seemed oddly more at place in this dream world and yet more disconcerting than anything else he had encountered. Colors were all wrong, the spaces between buildings seemed too tight, everything looked distorted and a little melted, like it was painted by Salvador Dali or something.

“Where are the nightmares? This isn’t like anywhere else.? Maybe we scared them off?” Meghan asked.

“No. They are here. I can sense them,” Moody warned.

“Maybe we waited too long to attack. They’ve had time to organize a counter strike,” Remus said.

“Keep in mind that they know how long we still have to get to Dallas. They know we lose people every time,” Moody explained.

The blonde-haired man, whot Sirius thought was called Todd but it might’ve been Tom, was doing some sniffing.

“Do you smell that?” Todd or Tom asked.

Sirius sniffed. Something did smell odd.

“It’s burning. Something is burning,” Meghan said.

Just then everything erupted in furious flame. Every building, statue, sign or decoration in Las Vegas was on fire. The heat was intense and the skin of Sirius’s arms burned.

“I don’t know if anyone notices but everything is on fire!” Sirius shrieked in pain.

Meghan’s light armor appeared on her and she yelled, charging into the city.

“Are you sure your armor is fireproof?” Sirius shouted.

“Yes,” she called back.

“Fair enough,” Sirius said.

To Sirius’s surprise her armor suddenly turned to ice, raising a mighty ice sword which sprayed around with blasts of frost. The others all began to sling water around but Sirius realized that at this rate the fire would consume them all. They needed to think bigger.

Sirius closed his eyes, getting into the artist zone, imagining a solution. He once again felt himself being lifted off the ground. The pain of the heat was bearing down on him but in this meditative state he felt it fade away. He lifted his hands to the sky and imagined rain. A lot of it.

The rain came down so hard and sudden it knocked Sirius back down the ground.

“Ow!” he shouted.

“Fuck!” he heard someone shout as the deluge poured over Las Vegas.

The fire was put out almost instantly but Sirius had overdone it, the water quickly flooding a city that wasn’t designed to deal with heavy rain or much rain at all.

“Black, get rid of that water! You’ll kill us all!” Moody shouted, swinging his walking stick around to knock the water back.

Meghan’s armor seemed to now be made of wind, her sword functioning just like Moody’s walking stick. Sirius closed his eyes, a big wave of water headed his way. Just as he anticipated the water slamming into him, all the sounds of rain and rushing water disappeared.

When Sirius opened his eyes, Moody was standing looking stern nearby.

“Good job,” he said, to Sirius’s surprise and the group moved deeper into the city.

As they moved down the Las Vegas strip, Sirius could hear whispers, muffled like they were on the opposite side of a door. The whispers got louder as they approached Caesar’s Palace. Sirius couldn’t keep his eyes off the statue of Caesar that stood in front of the drive to the casino. He yelped when it suddenly looked down at him, its upward pointed finger slowly pointing directly at Sirius.

“Do the rest of you see that?” Sirius asked, pointing at the statue.

“Sure do,” Remus said.

“Shit’s about to get dicey,” Meghan said, her armor turning back to light.

The statue leaped from its plinth, cracking the pavement as it landed. To Sirius’s horror the statue smirked, raising its steel rod as it slowly walked towards them.

“What do we do?” Todd or Tom asked.

“Run, you fools!” Moody shouted and everyone did just that.

They ran down the strip but more Roman statues leapt into their path, many of them of mostly naked figures.

“In terms of strange ways to die, I think being killed by a half-naked statue of a Roman woman ranks pretty high,” Sirius shouted as statues began to cut off their path.

“Gather around me,” Moody said and everyone circled around him.

He slammed the walking stick down and they were quickly further down the strip

“It’ll take them time to catch up to us now,” Moody declared but Sirius’s eyes immediately caught sight of the huge clown sign for another Circus Circus casino.

“Please don’t let the giant clown sign come to life,” he whispered.

“Are you afraid of clowns?” Meghan asked.

“No. I’m afraid of getting crushed by giant, living signs,” Sirius replied.

“I feel that,” Meghan smiled.

“Though I admit, getting crushed by a giant clown wouldn’t exactly be a dignified end,” Sirius said.

“Hello?” a voice called out.

Everyone looked around. Standing near the clown sign was a blonde-haired woman, looking terrified. Sirius started to move towards her but Moody stuck his walking stick out in front of him.

“Careful. It could be a trick,” he warned.

Something about the woman seemed familiar. Remus walked by Sirius’s side and as they got closer he whispered in Sirius’s ear, “That’s Pandora Lovegood.”

That was why she was familiar. She looked a great deal like Luna, just taller and older. She stepped out of the shadow of the giant clown sign and smiled.

“I know you,” she said, pointing at Remus.

“So you do. Do you remember my name?” Remus asked.

“Lupin. Remus Lupin,” she smiled, though she was visibly shaking.

“And you’re Pandora. Pandora Lovegood,” Remus said.

Pandora began to shake hard and cry. Remus and Sirius arrived at her fast and Remus took her in his arms.

“I’m sorry. It’s OK. We’ll help you get back home,” Remus said though he gave Sirius a dark look over her shoulder.

Sirius realized what he thought Remus had perhaps just realized: Pandora had been in the dreaming for a long time. She might not be able to return to the real world.

“Uh, guys,” Meghan called out.

Sirius looked over at her and she was pointing at the clown sign.

“Fuuuucck,” Sirius shouted as the sign began to move.

Remus and Sirius ran from the sign, both of them holding one of Pandora’s hands on either side of her. Sirius glanced northward and saw that the Caesar’s Palace statues had caught up and were quickly encircling them all.

“This is not good! Not good at all!” Todd or Tom said.

A ring of fire formed around the circle the statues and the giant clown sign had formed. Moody couldn’t just make them disappear.

“Don’t worry, Todd, we’ll figure something out,” Sirius said.

“My name isn’t—” Todd or Tom said but was interrupted by Caeser’s steel rod shooting straight into his chest.

“Don!” Meghan shouted.

“Don. Right. I knew that,” Sirius whispered, running to Don’s side but he was already dead by the time they made it there.

“We’ve never fought statues before,” Meghan said.

Sirius closed his eyes. The statues were moving in. He heard the sounds of several of his new friends being cut down. He once again imagined himself as a superhero, floating in the air. To his surprise, he felt a cloak fluttering behind him. What he needed was strength. He needed to be strong enough to fight stone. He opened his eyes.

Sirius shouted and flew straight at Caesar, his fist hitting the center of his stone chest, shattering him instantly. Another statue punched Sirius but that only shattered its fist.

“Look! Sirius is a superhero,” one of the group called out.

Remus handled the fire as the rest of the group concentrated on becoming as hard as steel, or in the case of Meghan, making her armor as strong as steel. Sirius flew into the clown sign, hitting it so hard it flew back, breaking in two.

Moody swiftly took out the last two statues and everyone caught their breath. Remus was checking on Pandora who still seemed to be in shock.

“Stand back,” Moody shouted and Sirius whirled around to see a pale man with a mop of straw-colored hair approaching them slowly with his hands clasped to his chest.

“Hello, all. My name is Barty Crouch Jr.. I’m here to negotiate your surrender,” he said.

“Surrender? Dude, did you see how much ass we just kicked?” a guy in the group asked.

“Please, we’re just toying with you. We could swallow this entire city into the earth, with all of you in it if we wanted,” Crouch warned.

“All the same, we’ll never surrender,” Remus said.

“But why? What do you care? This isn’t your world! Go home. Go back to your families. This world is a lost cause. Our master reigns supreme,” Crouch said.

“Your master can kiss our ass. Collectively. As a group. Our ass,” Meghan said, still catching her breath from the fight.

“You’re not a nightmare?” Sirius asked.

“No. I’m flesh and blood just like you,” Crouch said with a smile.

“Great,” Sirius said and ripped the steel rod from Don’s chest and flung it straight through Barty Crouch Jr..

Crouch coughed and looked down at his chest. He laughed then fell over, dead.

“Welp, so much for our surrender,” Meghan laughed.

And then the ground beneath them began to rumble. Shrieks and howls echoed throughout the city and the dark whispers from the shadows became deafening. And then Sirius heard the sounds he had heard from the nightmare in the desert. The terrifying way it shuffled and tapped as it moved around but a thousandfold as an ocean of legs, eyes and dark pincers moved their way down the Las Vegas strip, like an ocean from hell.

And then Luna appeared between the group and the nightmare.

“Luna!” Pandora screamed.

“It’s OK, mother. We’ve got this,” Luna said and suddenly a different ocean appeared from all directions, this one prismatic and beautiful.

The dreams had come. The nightmares screamed as the dreams flowed through them. Luna smiled back at them then disappeared into the dreams.

“No, Luna! Stop her! That’s my daughter!” Pandora screamed, tears streaming down her face.

“We need to move,” Remus said and everyone circled around Moody, Pandora practically needing to be dragged over by Remus and Sirius.

They found themselves beneath a sign that said Oscar’s with the words Beef, Booze, Broads beneath it. Sirius looked over and saw that this was the Plaza Hotel. He had stayed there once many years ago, though he didn’t recall Oscar’s so it must be new, he thought.

“We’re losing this fight,” one of the men in the group said.

“No we’re not,” Remus said.

Remus was right. The darkness was fading in the city. Sirius could feel it. The dreams were turning the tide. Meanwhile, more nightmares came from the sky, looking just like the beast they had fought at the motel. With a brush stroke in the sky with his hand, Sirius flashed blue light at the nightmares, sending them reeling, the others now levitating and blasting them with energy and elements aplenty. As the nightmares kept coming, more dreams rolled in from the desert making short work of the flying monstrosities.

And then, there was silence once more.

“Mother,” Luna’s voice said and Sirius turned around to see Luna walking over to Pandora.

“Luna. Come here. Let me hold you. It’s been so long. So long!” Pandora sobbed.

“I’m sorry, Mother,” Luna said and stopped moving, her hand extended out towards Pandora as she started to fade.

“No!” Pandora screamed.

“Don’t worry. My dreamer is still alive. They’ll help you get back to her. She won’t remember this. It will come to her in a dream,” Luna said, fading from view, Pandora’s fingertips barely missing brushing against Luna’s.

Pandora felt to her knees and sobbed. Remus rushed over and wrapped his arms around her.

“Don’t worry, Pandora. Luna is alive and well back on our world. The battle is over now,” Remus said.

A survey of the city showed that the nightmares had in fact been repelled. But the price had been great. Many dreams had been, temporarily at least, destroyed and Don had lost his life.

“We did well today. Only one casualty,” Moody said.

“I’d like to make it zero, next time,” Remus said.

“I don’t know about you guys but I could use a really long, hot bath. Do you think they have baths here?” Meghan asked sarcastically.

Remus rolled his eyes and smiled then came over to Sirius and whispered, “I need you to go back to our world. And… I need to find out if Pandora can go back. But I don’t want to upset her by telling her there’s a chance. I’ll look for an entry way then bring you both there. With any luck she’ll just return. There’s a lot we don’t understand about this world. Maybe there are reasons we don’t understand for why I can’t return.”

“OK. I’ll be waiting,” Sirius said.

 

* * *

 

A short time later Remus was leading Sirius and Pandora to an entry way behind a pawn shop.

“What are we doing?” Pandora asked.

“We’re checking something,” Remus answered.

“OK,” she said and began to pace around.

Remus again whispered in Sirius’s ear, “Our people will already be in Vegas and have scouted out the entry ways. If Pandora does go through tell them to help her get back to Seattle. She’s going to need a lot of help and care.”

Sirius nodded and Remus gave him a kiss.

“Good luck,” Remus said.

“Pandora, come here,” Sirius said and he took her hand.

“What’s going on?” Pandora asked.

“What do you feel?” Sirius asked.

“I feel strange. And what’s all that blue? It’s so bright,” she said.

“Don’t be afraid. Just close your eyes,” Sirius said.

“No! What’s happening?” she screamed and Sirius felt the strange sensation of traveling back to their world.

Sirius was relieved to see Pandora standing next to him.

“Oh my God. Is this? Is this?” Pandora said, unable to finish that sentence.

“Our world? Yes, it is,” Sirius said and walked over to the sidewalk, where the grouchy man from the motel in Tonopah was standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

“This is Pandora Lovegood. Help her get home,” Sirius said.

The grouchy man nodded at the woman next to him and said, “Sheryl, contact Xenophilius Lovegood. We have his number.”

“Xeno! I can see Xeno! And Luna! Where is Luna?” Pandora cried.

“Don’t worry, hon. We’ll take you to your family,” Sheryl said, leading Pandora away.

“Phone,” Sirius said to the man, sticking out his hand.

“Sure. Why not?” the man replied, slapping the phone in Sirius’s hand.

Sirius called Lily Potter’s number and got an immediate answer.

“Sirius?” she said.

“Yes. I’m in Las Vegas. I just wanted to update you both,” Sirius said.

“We’re in Vegas too. Tell us where you are and we’ll come to you,” Lily said.

“Uhhh…” Sirius said then told her the name of the pawn shop right as the man snatched the phone back.

“Really, man? Come on,” the man said with great disapproval.

Sirius knew he shouldn’t stick around but he did, not wanting to upset his friends any further. A half hour later, the two of them showed up in a rental car.

“Get in,” James Potter called, parking and hopping out to come over to him.

“Sirius!” Lily shouted and almost tackled Sirius to hug him.

“Nice to see you too, Lils,” Sirius said.

Behind her James looked less happy to see Sirius and only said, “Where’s Remus?”

“It’s complicated, James,” Sirius said.

“The hell it is! I swear to God, if you are just fucking with us, I will end you,” James said, clenching his fists.

Sirius sighed.

“Remus is safe. You have to trust me. I wish I could prove it but I can’t,” Sirius said.

James also sighed and shook his head.

“I shouldn’t believe you. But I had this dream last night. You and Remus were in it. You were… fighting a giant clown,” James said.

Sirius gave James a look of shock and James smiled.

“You knew what I meant? Maybe you aren’t lying. In any event, come to dinner with us. We’re still your friends, aren’t we? I don’t know what’s going on but… we’re worried about you too,” James said.

“Fair enough. Let’s get dinner,” Sirius said, realizing that for the first time in days he did feel hungry.

* * *

 

“I can’t believe it’s only been a couple of days on this side. I’m not certain exactly but I think I’ve been in the other world for a week,” Sirius said, then took a bite of steak.

“You understand this is all hard to believe?” James said.

Sirius nodded while he chewed.

“I believe it. I don’t know why I do but… I don’t know. I can see it in your eyes. It’s like… you’re different,” Lily said.

“I’ve seen things. Impossible things. Things that would fill your greatest dreams and your worst nightmares,” Sirius said.

“When are you going back?” Lily asked.

“After this meal. You can watch me leave if you want. I guess if I vanish in front of you you’ll know I’m not lying,” Sirius chuckled.

Lily’s phone began to ring so she answered it.

“Hey,” she said as a loud voice spoke to her on the other end, sounding excited.

“Calm down, Harry. Speak slowly,” she said then shortly her eyes went wide, staring at Sirius.

Moments later she said goodbye to Harry then stared at Sirius.

“That was Harry. He says… He says Luna’s mom has been found. Here in Las Vegas,” Lily said.

“They found Pandora? How?” James said.

“I brought her here. I left that part out, I suppose,” Sirius said.

James reached over and a placed a hand on Sirius’s shoulder.

“Bring Remus back too. Please,” James said.

“I will try. I promise,” Sirius said.

James and Lily both smiled at him.

“Thank you,” they both said.

“You’re welcome. I think I need to go to the bathroom. Haven’t done that in a while either,” Sirius admitted, making Lily cringe and James shake his head.

Sirius went into the bathroom, doing his business at a urinal when a familiar voice echoed in the bathroom, “Hello, cousin.”

Sirius jumped then zipped up his pants. He rushed over to the sink to wash his hands. He knew who that voice belonged to and he didn’t know what the hell she was doing here. A bathroom stall opened and she walked out. Bellatrix Lestrange, looking just as he remembered her.

“What’s the matter, Sirius? Don’t you want to say hello to your cousin?” Bella said, approaching casually with her hands behind her back.

“This is the men’s room, you know. You must have gotten lost,” Sirius said.

Bella smirked, still approaching.

“I just noticed you were in town. I thought I would say hello. You never say hello. Andromeda says you have a boyfriend but he went missing. That’s a shame,” Bella said.

Sirius never liked his cousin Bellatrix as a kid. She was many years older and had been cruel to him and his brother, Regulus. Luckily he had lost track of her years ago. Unluckily, she was now approaching him with that same look in her face she got as a kid when she was about to do something awful.

Sirius felt paralyzed as she came up to him, his back against the sinks. Bella sneered and said, “I heard you killed Barty.”

Sirius’s eyes went wide and she snickered.

“Yes, I know. I know everything. Don’t worry, I just wanted to express my appreciation for taking that overachieving kiss-ass off the map. Though I was looking forward to doing it myself so I suppose my appreciation has its limits,” Bella said, now so close he could feel the heat of her breath.

“Bella, please. I have no quarrel with you,” Sirius said, wondering what would happen if he tried to fight her.

It would do no good to get himself arrested but something about her eyes was making him uncomfortable. Bella laughed and said, “No, of course not. Not with me. With my master. They’ve told you his name. You want to kill him. I can’t allow that.”

“You can’t stop it. We’ve defeated you everywhere we’ve gone,” Sirius said.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I can stop it. I can stop it right now,” she said and in a subtle motion, her hand moved from behind her back and Sirius felt a sharp feeling in his gut.

“No,” Sirius shouted and pushed her back as he fell to the floor, hitting his head on the counter on the way down.

Bella cackled, pulling herself up and straightening out her skirt.

“Goodbye, cousin,” she said and calmly exited the bathroom.

Shortly, James ran inside.

“Sirius. Jesus!” James said and dropped down.

“I got stabbed. I got stabbed by Bellatrix Lestrange,” Sirius said.

“That creepy looking lady. Yeah, I saw her,” James said then shouted, “I need 911! Someone please! Find a doctor!”

Sirius felt faint. James put his hands on Sirius’s face and said, “No, no. Stay with me, man!”

After that everything was a blur. Police and doctors came. He was whisked away with James Potter refusing to leave his side. He kept thinking that he couldn’t tell them the truth. They wouldn’t believe the truth. He was also thinking that he needed to get back to Remus. He would be worried.

Sometime in the chaos he lost consciousness.

 

* * *

 

When Sirius awoke, Lily was in the room, looking tired.

“Sirius,” she said, looking concerned.

“I’m alive,” Sirius observed.

“Yeah. You are,” Lily smiled.

“That’s good. I need to get back to Remus,” Sirius said.

“No. You can’t. You have to stay here. You got lucky. She just hit your intestines. Basically that’s best case scenario for a stabbing like that. I mean… it’s still bad. But you’ll live,” Lily said, then got up, presumably to summon a doctor.

Shortly, Sirius’s doctor arrived with a smile.

“Hello, Mr. Black. I’m glad to see you are awake,” she said.

“Me too,” Sirius grinned.

The doctor then proceeded to explain everything Lily had just told him but in far more detail.

“So when I can I leave?” Sirius asked.

“You can leave when we’re confident the healing has gone well. If I had to guess I would say you should be out of here in five to seven days,” the doctor said with a smile.

“Five to seven? That’s too long,” Sirius said.

“Mr. Black, you have sustained a severe injury. We can’t allow you to leave until we are certain of your recovery. A lot can go wrong very quickly and being here could be the difference between life and death in an instant. Please. Just relax and let us take care of you,” she insisted.

Sirius sighed and look up at the ceiling. He nodded and said, “All right.”

“Good. Now get some rest, OK?” she said and he gave her a thumbs up.

James entered the room as the doctor left, looking very tired.

“Hey, man. You gave us a scare,” James said.

“It’s funny. Not even a day ago I was… fighting living statues like some sort superhero and now I’m helpless in the hospital because a stupid piece of metal pierced my abdomen,” Sirius said.

“Doesn’t seem funny to me,” Lily said with a frown.

Sirius sighed.

“It’s probably not. I guess I’ll get some rest. Oh… did they find Bella?” Sirius asked.

“Yeah. Actually, it’s the strangest thing. She went straight to the police department and turned herself in. Gave a full confession and gave them the knife with your blood still on it,” James said.

Sirius frowned. This was a darker war than he realized and there was so much more ground to cover.

 


	5. Learning to Fly

Every night at the hospital Sirius dreamed of Remus. He felt sad about how they kept being torn apart. He wondered how much time was passing in that other world. He thought it was possible that the people on their side in the real world may have informed Remus what had happened but he couldn’t be sure.

Once the hospital finally cleared him for release, James and Lily still weren’t so keen on just letting him go.

“I don’t know that my real world injuries will be so bad on the other side. It’s harder for me to get injured there. I mean, I was able to make my entire body as hard as steel. What’s a stab wound compared to something like that?” Sirius said.

“I don’t know. We’re just worried about you,” Lily said.

“I know. I appreciate that. But I’m needed. My cousin was willing to kill me to take me off the board. I’ve found a calling. I can’t ignore it,” Sirius explained.

“Fair enough. Well… I guess it’s time to see this disappearing act,” James said as Sirius walked towards the entry point behind the pawn shop.

“Sirius,” James said and Sirius turned around to face him.

“Take care of yourself,” James smiled and Sirius disappeared, briefly seeing the look of shock on James and Lily’s faces.

Sirius had almost forgot how strange the dream world was. He had grown used to it quickly before. Vegas seemed peaceful and the dreams now streamed along the sidewalks, just like all the other places they had liberated from the nightmares.

He checked the spot where he had been wounded and found there was nothing there. His wound from the real world had not followed him onto this one. He smiled and headed out to the streets, searching for his friends, eventually arriving at the Plaza Hotel where he was greeted by Moody.

“Black. Welcome back. He’s waiting for you,” Moody said, gesturing inside the hotel.

Sirius nodded at Moody then entered the hotel. Remus was just inside talking to one of the team. Hearing someone come inside, Remus glanced back then quickly grinned.

“Christ, I was worried,” Remus said, rushing straight to Sirius and giving him a kiss.

“Aww geez,” the man he had been speaking with said, laughing then leaving the hotel lobby.

“What happened? We were able to find out you had been stabbed but not much else,” Remus said.

“I was stabbed by my cousin while I was having dinner with James and Lily,” Sirius revealed.

“James and Lily! What do they know?” Remus asked, looking concerned.

“Everything. I’m sorry. I didn’t want them to have that fear that comes from not knowing what’s really happening,” Sirius said, cringing for fear of Remus’s reaction.

Remus sighed and nodded.

“Fair enough. I guess they can’t follow you through or they’d be here already. I know them too well. They’d follow me into hell if they could,” Remus said.

“So how much time has passed? Where are we at?” Sirius asked.

Remus rubbed his chin and shook his head.

“It’s hard to say how much time has passed. Maybe a month? Or maybe two months. I’m not sure. As far as planning goes we’re now planning on how to cross Hoover Dam,” Remus said, leading Sirius over to the front desk where a crudely drawn map was laid out.

“Right. I didn’t even think about the dam. That’s a tight squeeze if there’s trouble,” Sirius said.

“Moody has been down there to scope it out. Looks like all the nightmares that fled Vegas have built a wall of darkness on the dam. It’s not really an ideal space for a battle. But if we can get past the dam we’ll be that much closer to Dallas,” Remus explained.

“Can’t we just… fly over the dam?” Sirius asked.

Remus smirked at Sirius and said, “Babe, we haven’t all mastered flight like you have. Not even Moody can fly and he’s been here for countless decades.”

“Then let me show you all how to,” Sirius said.

“Sirius, it’s possible that we all just have our natural gifts. You don’t think I haven’t tried to fly? I’ve been here for years and I can’t fly. You learned to do it in a manner of days,” Remus replied.

“It couldn’t hurt to try. For me it’s like I’m painting and reality… this reality is my canvas,” Sirius said.

“I suppose, but even if we could all fly, we’d just fly straight into a wall of nightmares. When I first found Meghan in Portland she’d gotten swallowed up in nightmares. She’d been living out her worst nightmares and darkest fears for what felt like eternity for her. If I wouldn’t have pulled her out who knows what would have become of her? If that happens to all of us… that’s game over,” Remus explained.

“Well, we have to do _something_. We can’t just sit on our thumbs. Is there any other way to get to Texas?” Sirius asked.

“No other viable paths. We’d have to find a way across the Colorado River and on the other side there’s nothing but desert and mountains. If the nightmares came we’d have nowhere to hide. And who knows what’s out there. No. We need to go across the dam,” Remus said resolutely.

“Then we’ll cross it,” Sirius replied and gave Remus another kiss.

* * *

 

“Hello, class. I will be your flying instructor, Mr. Black,” Sirius said proudly.

“This isn’t going to work,” Meghan said.

“Yeah,” a man Sirius had learned was definitely named Joe said.

“An optimistic bunch, I see,” Sirius said.

“I’m just a realist. I know what I can do. I can kick ass and make sweet armor. Flight? Not so much,” Meghan countered.

Sirius noticed Moody was standing off to the side and said, “Moody, aren’t you going to join?”

“No. Carry on,” Moody said.

Sirius shrugged and said the group, “So I just close my eyes. I imagine that I am painting, like this.”

Sirius was almost worried that he wouldn’t be able to perform with everyone watching but thankfully he began to float, feeling his cape appear behind him.

“Do we need the stupid cape?” Joe asked.

“Capes aren’t stupid. Capes are cool,” Sirius replied defensively.

“I like the cape, actually. It’s purple. Nice shade,” Meghan said.

Sirius cleared his throat and said, “So, everyone, close your eyes and focus on whatever it is you think about when you conjure things.”

Joe closed his eyes and said, “I think about molding clay.”

A black woman Sirius thought was named Becca said, “I think about getting drunk and doing karaoke.”

“Me too!” Meghan said, then laughed and said, “I’m kidding. I think about sex. Really. That’s not a lie.”

“I think about the flow between my mind and words. When it’s really flowing well I don’t have to stop and think. It’s the same thing here. I barely know what I’m imagining because it happens so fast,” Remus said, taking things more seriously.

“I want everyone to focus on that feeling. And then imagine that you are doing that thing but flying,” Sirius said.

Joe laughed and said, “Flying while molding clay? That sounds pretty cool, actually.”

“Oh God. The visuals. That looks dangerous,” Meghan snickered.

Most of the group laughed and even Remus cracked a smile. And then suddenly, Becca raised two inches off the ground.

“Yeah, I don’t think drunken air karaoke sounds all that practical,” Becca said, seemingly unaware that she was levitating.

“Becca, open your eyes and look down,” Sirius said.

“Woah. Holy shit,” she said and everyone else opened their eyes and looked at her.

“Have you ever done that before?” Sirius asked.

“I don’t think so,” she said then slowly floated higher.

Meghan quickly closed her eyes and concentrated. Shortly, she also lifted off. One by one everyone followed, all except Remus who looked glum. Sirius dropped down and walked over to coach him.

“It’s no use,” Remus said.

Sirius took his hands in his own and said, “Do it with me.”

Remus looked up into his eyes and Sirius added with a whisper, “Connected, just like when we make love together in bed.”

Remus smiled and closed his eyes, Sirius doing the same. Sirius took it slow, barely moving off the ground while Remus still remained. When they touched like this they could very much feel each other, like they were sharing a space and a mutual existence. Sirius believed if Remus could feel him flying he would know how to duplicate it.

“Just relax. Feel yourself through me,” Sirius whispered and suddenly he felt Remus lift off.

Everyone was silent but Sirius could feel their eyes on them, as they slowly rose above the Las Vegas street.

“Open your eyes,” Sirius said softly.

Remus slowly did so as they floated up and up, leaving their companions on the ground far below until they were both floating above Las Vegas.

“Sirius… we’re flying,” Remus said, his face alive with joy.

“That we are,” Sirius said and tightly embraced Remus, kissing him deeply.

They pulled away, both laughing with glee.

“Who knew just thinking about sex with you could make me fly,” Remus said.

“I made an educated guess,” Sirius winked.

“Perhaps we should go back down. Dismiss the class and go back into the hotel to… practice our flight technique in private,” Remus said, kissing Sirius again, his lips feeling so soft and warm in the coolness of the Vegas skyline.

“Hmm, yes. I think we could use some… practice,” Sirius grinned as they began to float back down.

The others were floating about closer to the ground. Sirius wasn’t sure he had ever felt this much pride. It was a new, wonderful feeling.

“Well, I think that about does it, class. I think this will be really helpful,” Sirius said, landing on the ground, Remus’s hands still in his.

“I just wanna see if I can fly with my armor on,” Meghan said.

“It’s imaginary armor. Shouldn’t be hard,” Joe piped in.

“Remus and I are going to go discuss technique in private,” Sirius said, Remus giving him a wide-eyed glare to which he shrugged.

“Damn, I was just about to tell you to go get a room,” Meghan said, snapping her fingers.

Remus and Sirius didn’t reply, instead reentering the hotel. They calmly walked to the elevator, stepped inside and Remus hit the button for his room. As soon as the doors closed, Remus was pushing Sirius against the back of the elevator, their bodies floating together as the elevator rose. Their mouths were locked, Sirius’s hand was clutching Remus’s ass and Remus’s hard cock was pressing against Sirius’s belly through their clothes.

They were held so tightly together, Sirius was convinced with a little more concentration they could merge into a singular being. When the elevator arrived at their floor, the door opened and they floated into the hall, spinning around in a mess of kisses and laughter.

 

In this dream version of the hotel, none of the doors had locks, a fact that made drifting into the room much more convenient. Once inside with the door shut their clothes began to fall away and drift from their bodies, many of them left floating in the air as they drifted to the bed.

Remus spun Sirius beneath him as they landed on the bed. Remus’s long, thick cock rubbed against Sirius’s cock so delightfully, the dreamy connection tingling through his body from head to toe to cock. Remus leaned up, motioning a hand up the length of his shaft, making it slick with just a thought. Sirius spread his legs as Remus moved his cock to his hole, gently pushing inside as Sirius threw his head back, ready to be filled.

It was all so much easier in the dreaming. Sirius thought he could see the allure of staying here forever. He tried to tell himself it wasn’t all really real but the temptation was there. They could be immortal here. They would never die and they could be together forever. But what kind of life would that be? On the outside everyone they ever knew would die. And would that life be truly fulfilling or would time just slip away until nothing had any meaning or flavor again?

“Remus, I love you,” Sirius cried out, Remus deep inside of him, leaning down for a hot kiss.

“I love you too,” Remus whispered in his ear, his cock thrusting hard and intense as he buried his mouth in Sirius’s throat.

In this moment Sirius could feel every part of Remus and he was certain Remus could feel all of him. It was mutual pleasure taken to its logical extension of true erotic unity. He had felt a taste of this before in Tonopah but this time was different, more intense.

“I’m gonna come. Oh, God, I’m gonna come!” Remus moaned, his cock slamming into Sirius.

“Me too. I can feel it, Remus. I can feel you going over the… uhhhhh,” Sirius moaned, feeling himself explode with pleasure as Remus held him tight, his cock spasming inside of Sirius just as Sirius’s own cock exploded against their bellies.

“I can feel it too. I can feel you. Oh God,” Remus whimpered, his face pressed against Sirius’s face, his lips grazing stubble.

It felt like they were both climaxing for an eternity, every last shock of pleasure ricocheting and hitting the other until they both were finally diminished, relaxing into a sticky heap, both laughing.

“That was… amazing,” Remus said.

“That’s putting it mildly. Are any of the rest of the team partnered up? It would be a shame for them to miss out on this,” Sirius said.

“Haha, are you asking for gossip?” Remus replied.

“No, of course not,” Sirius said, then thought for a moment and corrected, “Yes. Yes, I am.”

“Joe has a thing with one of the guys. I can’t remember which one. Maybe Derek? No… it was Felix,” Remus said.

“Felix is cute,” Sirius admitted.

“Felix is reckless and is going to get himself killed,” Remus replied.

“Geez, nice confidence in your team,” Sirius said.

“I just melted my brain having two orgasms at once. Give me a break. Anyhow, Umm… Becca had a boyfriend but he died in Reno,” Remus said.

“Oh, God. I’m sorry,” Sirius said.

“Yeah. That was hard. Meghan talks about sex a lot but she’s actually asexual,” Remus said.

“Oh, she and I should bond over the whole asexuality thing,” Sirius said.

“That’s right. You’re demisexual. You’ll forgive me, but it feels like a lifetime for me since we first met. It’s distant memories to me now,” Remus said.

“I forgive you. Now what about Moody,” Sirius snickered.

“Moody. God, Moody doesn’t really get personal at all. He sometimes tells stories. Stories about his real life. Stories that happened on this world. But he keeps a distance. Someone like that who has been here so long learns not to make friends. People don’t last long on this world. This group we have might seem large but the truth is we’ve lost more people than we have saved,” Remus said.

Sirius frowned as Remus fell out of him, falling to his side and laying his head on Sirius’s chest.

“I’m sorry, Remus,” Sirius said.

“It’s OK. If we had done nothing we would have saved no one. To save some at all, others will die. It doesn’t feel good but reminding myself of that helps me to sleep at night,” Remus admitted.

Sirius thought about their flight up into the Las Vegas sky and how easy it had been to show everyone how to fly. He thought about the intensity of their lovemaking and mutual pleasure and a thought struck him.

“We’re stronger together,” Sirius said.

“Sounds like a campaign slogan,” Remus joked.

“No. Listen. Think of what the two of us can do when connected? What if it was all of us?” Sirius asked.

Remus burst into laughter.

“I don’t think everyone will be so keen on an orgy,” Remus snarked.

“Listen, dammit,” Sirius laughed then said, “What if we like… join hands. We can foster that connection between us all as a group. Think of what we could do! We would be so much stronger.”

Remus stopped laughing and stared at Sirius in shock.

“You’re right,” Remus said.

“Of course I am,” Sirius replied smugly.

Remus laughed and said, “No, shut up! You’re right. When we just came together it was like… magnified. Multiplied. We didn’t just double the pleasure like it was added together. It was increased beyond that. I can’t believe I’ve never thought of it.”

“Maybe you just don’t appreciate artists enough. Stuck up writers,” Sirius rolled his eyes.

“Maybe. Maybe so. Tomorrow we’ll test it. We need something to break past the Hoover Dam. This might be it,” Remus said.

“Why not round everyone up now?” Sirius asked.

Remus grinned at him.

“Because I’m not done with you,” Remus said, leaning down to gently suck Sirius’s nipple.

“Oh? What did you have in mind?” Sirius asked.

“Why spoil the mystery?” Remus winked, as lips drifted down Sirius’s torso.

 

 

* * *

 

“If anyone starts singing Kumbaya, I’m out,” Meghan said as they all held hands in the desert in a big circle.

“Is anyone going to explain what we’re doing or is this just some sort of group bonding exercise designed to build trust,” Felix said.

Sirius laughed and said, “Well, it is kind of a group bonding exercise. Remus and I want everyone to practice flying while we all hold hands.”

“That sounds like a recipe for disaster,” Meghan said.

“Maybe. But you saw what happened with Remus and me yesterday? I was able to help him fly. We were… connected,” Sirius explained.

“I bet you were,” Meghan winked, making Sirius blush.

“Anyhow. You all remember what I showed you before. Close your eyes, think of your most creative space and imagine you are flying,” Sirius said.

Sirius closed his eyes, thinking of all of the team one by one, searching for them through mutual connections. Remus was opposite of Sirius in the circle, hoping that their strong connection would reach through the others and unite them.

“Woah. Who is thinking about drywalling?” Meghan sneered.

Someone coughed but didn’t answer. Sirius didn’t care what anyone imagined as long as it worked. Slowly he felt the connection reach through everyone until it made its way to Remus on the other side of the circle like a closed circuit. And then together they began to lift.

“Woah, shit!” Joe called out.

“No one let go!” Remus shouted.

The circle ascended rapidly towards the purple sky. Sirius wondered what would happen if they kept going up. Would they hit a wall? Would they fly into space? At the rate they were moving it wouldn’t take long. Glancing over his shoulder, Sirius saw Las Vegas slowly becoming a shining dot in the desert.

“This is amazing,” Meghan said.

The rest of the group quickly made sounds of agreement.

“I can feel everyone like they are a part of me. It’s so… peaceful,” Becca said.

“Who wants to fly back to Vegas?” Sirius asked.

Everyone smiled at each other and they began to drift back to the city. Around them were swirling dreams, perhaps excited by something new and different happening. The circle floated above the city then slowly dropped down to the street where Moody was waiting.

Once they landed it seemed no one wanted to release their hands. The experience was slightly addicting. He had felt it with Remus. Once they stopped touching it felt like something was missing for a short while.

“So what other neat tricks can we do? Can we share powers? Switch bodies. Oooh, maybe we can join together to become like one giant robot,” Meghan said with excitement.

Everyone gave her strange looks and she frowned, “I watch a lot of anime.”

“Maybe try to share your special skills. Here, I’ll…” Sirius said then closed his eyes, concentrating on his goal.

“What the fuck?” Joe said, startled.

Sirius opened his eyes and everyone had capes as planned.

“How do I look?” a middle-aged woman with curly red hair named Darlene asked.

“Nice,” Meghan said.

“Cool,” Darlene replied.

“And now…” Sirius said, concentrating again.

He felt the hands holding his getting hard before he felt his own. Many gasps occurred in the circle.

“Did you guys feel that?” Becca asked.

“Yeah,” Felix replied.

“You’re all now as hard as steel,” Sirius grinned.

“That’s neat. Who wants to get their ass kicked?” Meghan said, smiling at the group.

“Will we lose the power if we let go?” Darlene asked.

“My hope is that the connection between us will become so strong with time that we won’t need to touch to maintain it,” Sirius explained.

Everyone released each other’s hands, one by one. Meghan knocked on her shoulder, a sound of metal on metal echoing out.

“How does this work anyhow? Are all my organs now metal? Is my blood metal? …Are my boobs metal?” Meghan grimaced.

“Jesus, Meghan,” Becca said.

“Fine, who wants to fight me? I haven’t kicked in ass in days… or has it been weeks? It doesn’t matter,” she said.

Everyone begun to spar in the street while Remus and Sirius stood back to watch.

“You truly are gifted, Sirius. I led them all the way from Portland to Las Vegas but we were only ever scraping by,” Remus said.

“I couldn’t have done this without the groundwork you laid down. I couldn’t have done it without them either. It’s teamwork,” Sirius said, grabbing Remus’s hand and trying to squeeze but finding himself unable thanks to the steel skin.

The group was all fighting each other one by one, with the final two being Meghan and Darlene. Meghan ultimately won, though only because Darlene conceded the fight.

“That was fun!” Meghan said.

“Yeah. Like Christmas,” Darlene said.

“No thanks, I’m Jewish,” Meghan said with a bright grin.

“Good job, everyone. That’s probably enough for one day. We can go relax. Soon, we’ll have to cross the Hoover Dam. I think the nightmares are in for a surprise,” Remus said.

 

* * *

 

In the days that followed there were many more group exercises. Of particular interest was  maintaining the connections even when they weren’t touching, seeing progressively how far the distance between them all could become before the connection would break. This had the odd effect of sometimes thinking that one of them was near Sirius when they really weren’t.

They couldn’t quite read each other’s minds or anything as sophisticated as that but they could sense moods and concepts if they were relayed strongly enough. Beyond anything else, they were all getting closer. Sirius learned a great deal about everyone in that time.

The twenty-year old black guy with glasses was Adam. He had recently discovered an ability to create mirrored clones of himself that he alleged he ‘totally’ had control of, but at least once one of them had sucker punched him when he wasn’t looking.

Felix was a Mexican trans guy with super strength powers. He was practicing conjuring large, heavy objects so he could throw them. Sirius was a little worried that he’d end up tossing something at one of them but thought it would probably be fine.

Jan was a college student with a shaved head and a plethora of tattoos and piercings. Despite her appearance she was actually pretty shy. Appropriately she could turn invisible, something Sirius thought would come in handy for a shy person.

Kaori and Priya were best friends from the real world, both of them middle aged. Kaori was a Japanese-American with super speed, fitting with her history as a fitness obsessed runner. Priya was Indian-American and had just discovered she could surround herself in strong, semi-opaque bubble shields.

The final member of the group Sirius was becoming better acquainted with was Hope, a really friendly blonde haired woman from Texas who, to everyone’s great shock, could turn herself into a werewolf.

“I’ve always had nightmares about werewolves,” Remus lamented.

“But I’m a friendly werewolf!” Hope insisted, disconcertingly still in her wolf-woman form.

“Of course,” Remus smiled, though he still looked nervous.

“Just don’t be friendly when it comes time to fight,” Sirius smirked.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Hope said then made a growl that made them all jump a little.

“Sorry!” Hope said, changing back into her human form and looking embarrassed.

“Gather around, everyone,” Remus said.

“We’re like the Superfriends, now,” Darlene said.

Kaori and Priya gave her high fives while some of the others looked perplexed.

“Or The Avengers if you prefer,” Sirius said, the younger ones smiling.

“I think it’s time for us to cross the Hoover Dam. We’ve had time to prepare but so have they. They know as well as we do that once we cross the dam there will be little stopping us from making it Dallas. This is the beginning of the end of the journey we set out on so long ago,” Remus said.

“I’m ready to kick some names and take some ass,” Meghan said.

“Huh?” Joe said and Meghan frowned.

“It’s a joke. Like kick some ass and take some names. But backwards,” Meghan said.

“Ohhh. I get it. That’s funny,” Joe said but Meghan just shrugged.

“Anyhow… I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. But just know: It’s been an honor fighting this battle with you all. I know that in our real lives none of us would be the sort of people to wage a war or get in fights or possibly give up our lives. At any time any of you could’ve returned to our world, no questions asked,” Remus said.

“Oh, really? Fuck. Bye, I’m out!” Meghan said and started to walk away.

“Uhhh,” Remus started but she turned around and said, “Got ya! Nah, my life is so boring.”

“Actually, what do you do in your real life?” Sirius asked.

“I’m a security guard for a parking garage,” Meghan groaned.

“Really? That sounds exciting. I mean, I do data entry and it’s dull as dirt,” Hope said.

“Oooh, data entry. That sounds nice. No, you’ve probably seen too many movies. I’m literally paid to sit around being bored all the time. God, I wish someone would try to steal a car or something,” Meghan said.

“Well, that’s a good note to end this meeting on. Get some rest,” Remus said and took Sirius by the hand.

They had agreed to have another special night together… just in case.

 


	6. Two Sides of the River

Sirius had felt so optimistic about the attack on Hoover Dam that he was surprised to find that on the journey there he was nervous. Something felt wrong. Nothing seemed obviously out of place. It was like how he had felt on the journey to Tonopah, when he had been ambushed by nightmares. He told himself it was nothing. No one else seemed bothered.

In fact, everyone seemed upbeat, instilled with a confidence that had perhaps come from Sirius himself. The journey to the dam felt long. They made the choice to summon cars for everyone to ride in. Moody didn’t think any sudden movements would be ideal.

Despite Sirius’s fears, the dam was quiet when they arrived. They all hopped out of their cars, looking over the dam, not even a half mile across.

“Now that we’re here… it doesn’t seem like much. I could run across it in maybe two minutes, without even using any super powers,” Meghan said.

“Why didn’t we just use the highway?” Felix asked.

“It’s longer and probably just as well protected,” Remus said.

“So, we should all get back in the cars and just… drive really fast, right?” Hope asked, looking anxious.

“Yes, but we have to go one by one,” Remus said.

“Why can’t we just fly?” Darlene asked.

“We could. But I thought we all agreed using the cars to get as far away from here as quickly as possible was for the best?” Remus said.

“And if you haven’t all forgotten, I can’t fly. I’m also not so good with traveling in spaces like this. I move fast in straight lines but this is curved. I’m not sure I wouldn’t fly off into the dam,” Moody grumbled.

“OK, everyone. Back in the cars,” Sirius said.

They were driving three cars total. Sirius, Meghan, Priya and Kaori were in a car. Moody, Felix, Joe and Adam were in a car. And Remus, Hope, Jan, Becca and Darlene were crammed into a car. Remus’s car went first. Even though it only took a minute, it felt like the longest minute of Sirius’s life. Still, Remus arrived on the other side, nothing having happened.

“What the fuck? Maybe we scared them real bad?” Meghan suggested.

“No. I don’t think so,” Sirius said.

“Are you sure? Maybe they moved all their forces to Dallas,” Kaori suggested as the car with Moody moved across the dam.

When Moody’s car made it safely across, Sirius became more worried than ever before. This wasn’t right. Even still, he tried to swallow his anxiety, the car moving across the bridge.

“Can’t you go faster?” Priya asked.

“Yeah. I could’ve gone across myself easy,” Kaori said.

“I’m going just as fast as everyone else,” Sirius insisted but was suddenly aware that his speed was dropping.

“What’s going on? Fuck!” Meghan shouted as the car ground to a halt, right at the point at which the dam was split between Nevada and Arizona.

“I don’t know. Get out of the car,” Sirius said and everyone hopped out.

“Grab hands,” Sirius added and they all arrived in front of the car, hands quickly locking.

“Your palms are sweaty,” Meghan noted.

“Thanks,” Sirius said then added, “Close your eyes, quick. We’ve gotta get off this dam.”

And then Sirius heard the crack. He tried to focus on flight but the terror was overtaking him.

“I can’t do it. I can’t fly,” Meghan said.

“Fuck it, let’s run!” Sirius shouted and they all started to run.

Kaori reached back, grabbed Priya’s hand and they flew across the bridge, just as the dam gave way, trillions of gallons of waters spilling forth as Sirius and Meghan fell back into the roaring waters. In an instant, Sirius was surrounded by cold, wet darkness, feeling his body hurtling away from his friends.

_This isn’t real_.

He tried to repeat that to himself. He knew he would lose consciousness in moments, quickly followed by his death.

_This isn’t real_.

_This isn’t real_.

_This_. _Isn’t_. _Real_.

Just as Sirius felt his body slamming against something hard and sharp, he was jolted by the sensation of suddenly being dry, but still very much surrounded by darkness.

“Isn’t it, though? What does reality even mean?” the voice of Bellatrix Lestrange echoed through the darkness.

“Reality definitely doesn’t mean drowning in the Colorado River,” Sirius countered.

“Maybe it does. Maybe that’s your reality,” Bella said, suddenly sauntering out of the darkness, just enough light to illuminate the two of them.

She was dressed in a rather tight black dress, shining dagger in her palm.

“Are you real?” Sirius asked up at his cousin.

“I’m as real as you are,” Bella said.

“Shame. I was hoping you’d rot in prison,” Sirius said.

“I was hoping you’d bleed out in that bathroom, but we don’t all get what we want,” Bella insisted.

“So, how’d you get out? Why’d you even turn yourself in?” Sirius asked.

Bella snorted.

“You’re busy drowning at the bottom of a rushing river and are interrogating me? Fine. I turned myself in for safety. Once I stabbed you there was a chance you’d be able to tell your people who I was and they might come after me,” Bella said.

“So? My people wouldn’t do anything worse to you than they’d do to you in prison,” Sirius said.

Bella cackled.

“Is that what you think? Please, they would’ve shot me and left me somewhere in the desert. This is a war, it isn’t pretty. Once the coast was clear, my master retrieved me and now I am one with the nightmare. I am one with him,” Bella said.

“You are one with Voldemort,” Sirius said.

Sirius heard screeches in the darkness and Bella scowled at him.

“Don’t you dare say his name. I should cut out your unworthy tongue. I always knew you were a bad seed. Your mother should’ve smothered you with a pillow,” Bella said.

“Well, I’m helpless and I can see the dagger in your hand. Talking to you is torture enough. Just end it,” Sirius said.

“I should!” Bella snarled, rushing up to Sirius and pressing the blade into his throat.

“Do it,” Sirius shouted right in her face.

Bella smirked then backed up.

“Tsk, tsk, cousin. Don’t worry, my master is saving you. He wants to do it himself. Only he’s going to consume you and you’ll be part of the darkness forever. A part of him. I’ll be there too to keep you company for all eternity as my master’s limbs spread through all of space and time, until he is all that there is,” Bella wistfully proclaimed.

“That’s never going to happen,” Sirius declared.

“Consider this a warning of things to come. You will fail. You will see every single one of your friends die until only you and your lover remain. And then I’ll cut his throat and make you watch him bleed!” Bella said.

“Fuck you!” Sirius said, but Bella flicked his nose and he suddenly felt himself hitting pavement hard.

“Shit,” Sirius said, leaning up to rub his back.

“What the fuck just happened to you?” Meghan asked.

“I had a nightmare,” Sirius said and stood up to realize they were all still on the wrong side of the dam.

Remus came to Sirius and wrapped his arms around him, saying, “We were just about to get back in our cars then you collapsed.”

“What did you see?” Meghan asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Best not to put anything in your minds. But I think they are going to let us pass. I think they want us to make it to Dallas so they can destroy us there,” Sirius said.

“Get back in the cars,” Moody called out.

Things played out like before, with Sirius’s car once again going last. He shook the entire way across but was greatly relieved when they all made it across, nothing bad having happened. Sirius stuck his thumb out to give the others the go ahead and they started to move. And then they heard it. It was just like the nightmare but this time worse.

Sirius glanced back at the dam as giant, black hands rose from the river, clutching and cracking the dam.

“Go!” Sirius shouted out of his car window, the tires of Remus and Moody’s cars spinning out as they moved forward.

In his rear-view mirror he saw a huge, hulking nightmare rising up, its massive fists smashing the dam. The cars were surely moving faster than they could in real life as rushing waters and the colossal behemoth scuttled across the earth on all fours behind them.

“I guess this is what they mean when they say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” Meghan said.

“Shut up!” Kaori screeched.

“Sorry,” Meghan said.

Sirius was flooring the gas pedal, unsure if that was even really doing anything in a car that he had conjured with his mind to begin with.

“What’s that?” Priya said, pointing forward.

“Oh no,” Sirius said, seeing the strange spider like creatures they had faced in Vegas swarming the sides of the roads, Remus and Moody’s cars slamming into them, undeterred.

“How far is the next major city?” Kaori asked.

“Flagstaff is the next stop. Normally, I guess it would be like three hours away but right now… who knows,” Sirius said, knowing that nothing about the current conditions could be calculated.

It wasn’t long before the streams of light from the dreams began swirling through the nightmares but everything was moving too fast for them to know who was winning that fight. Every time they hit one of the nightmare creatures, Sirius nearly lost control of the car and it only seemed to be getting worse.

“I think we can all agree it’s a good thing we brought cars,” Meghan said.

“I’ll co-sign that,” Kaori said.

“Same,” Priya added.

Just then Sirius saw something completely horrifying: Moody’s car, out of control, spinning and flipping to the side of the road.

“Shit!” Sirius said and quickly pulled over.

Remus’s car screeched to a halt and turned around.

“What are you doing? We’re gonna get killed,” Kaori shrieked.

“This is go time, gang. We can’t hold anything back if we are going to save them,” Sirius said, jumping out of the car and quickly feeling his skin harden as he moved into the air.

Meghan was soon beside him, her armor of light on. Kaori was out of the car and using her super speed to weave through the nightmares faster than Sirius could follow. Priya was rushing forward in her bubble shield, looking completely terrified. Sirius and Meghan flew towards the car, the nightmare beasts leaping through the air, snapping at their heels.

Priya and Kaori flipped over the car right as Remus and his group arrived too. Adam, Felix and Joe quickly hopped out of the car.

“What are you doing?” Meghan shouted at them.

“Moody is hurt. I think he’s hurt bad,” Felix said.

The groups fought off the nightmares as Kaori whizzed around to the driver’s seat and brought Moody out.

“Let go of me! I’m fine!” Moody snarled.

“You don’t look fine, bro,” Joe said.

“I told you not to call me bro,” Moody glared and tried to whirl his walking stick to blast the nightmares but instead fell.

“Get Alastor back in the car. Which one of you knows how to drive?” Sirius asked.

“I can,” Felix said and they all went to get back in the car.

Sirius tried to concentrate on the connection they all shared. They had been overconfident today. If they had stopped and focused on the connection before they crossed the dam maybe…

Then Sirius felt something very wrong. Joe screamed. Sirius turned his head, watching with terror as the nightmares dragged Joe away into the darkness. He felt them all move to go out and save him but then… Joe was gone. He could feel it and the look on all their faces showed that they felt it too.

“Let’s go. We have to get out of here,” Sirius said, Moody safely in the back seat of his car.

Sirius flew back to the car and Kaori, Priya and Meghan all got inside, seeming safe, even as the nightmares rushed towards them. In an instant they were moving again. Somehow the nightmares seemed to slowly fade away. Perhaps they had done their damage already. They were down another person. Maybe two. Sirius could feel Moody and he didn’t like what he felt at all.

* * *

 

They stopped in Flagstaff, a city that seemed positively scenic compared to all the miles of desert they had traversed. After finding a hotel to camp at, they took stock and began to mourn Joe. Moody tried to keep everyone away but it was obvious he was badly injured.

“Remus, I’m worried about Moody. He got hurt pretty bad,” Sirius said.

Remus frowned and said, “I know. I could feel it too. But I don’t know what we can do about it.”

“Can’t we heal him? When I came into this world the stab wound Bellatrix gave me just went away,” Sirius said.

Remus shook his head.

“That injury wasn’t from this world. Moody will have to heal himself. It takes time and we don’t have a lot of that,” Remus said.

Sirius sighed.

“I’m going to talk to him,” Sirius said, stepping out of their hotel room.

“He isn’t going to like that,” Remus called out.

“I know!” Sirius yelled back, going down to Moody’s room and knocking on the door.

“Come in!” Moody shouted through the door.

Sirius stepped inside, finding Moody sitting on the edge of the bed, slumped over.

“How are you doing?” Sirius asked.

“How does it look? I’m not so great. I’ve broken an arm, maybe a shoulder and God knows what else is wrong with me,” Moody said.

“Is there anything we can do for you?” Sirius asked.

Moody nodded and said, “Leave me here.”

Sirius laughed and said, “No, really.”

Moody glared up at Sirius and said, “I’m not joking. Leave me here. I can’t fight. I can heal myself but the nightmares are only growing stronger. At best I will get myself killed. At worst I will get us all killed.”

Sirius sighed.

“The others aren’t going to like this,” Sirius said.

Moody shrugged and said, “I don’t give a shit. Defeat them… defeat him. If the nightmares are gone, I’ll know. I’ll find an entry way.”

“Jesus, Alastor. Seeing you so defeated-” Sirius started but Moody huffed.

“I’m not defeated! A soldier has to know when to stand down and not be a liability. I’m more resolute than ever. I’ve waited a long time for this.”

“OK. I’m sorry,” Sirius said and Moody nodded in acknowledgement.

Sirius walked over to Moody’s window. There wasn’t much to see outside. The sky was an especially blue shade of purple. There were a lot of trees here. It was a funny place, being in the middle of the desert.

“We’re going to head to Dallas once everyone has gathered their strength. We’re going to drive right across New Mexico without stopping. Well, as long as nothing gets in our way. Then we’ll stop in Amarillo to make our final plans,” Sirius said.

“Are you scared?” Moody asked.

“Yes,” Sirius replied.

“Good,” Moody said.

“I’m not scared I’ll die, though. I’m scared of what will happen if we fail,” Sirius said.

“Which is exactly why you must not fail,” Moody said.

Sirius smiled at him and said, “Exactly.”

 

* * *

 

Getting back on the road was somewhat nerve-racking. Sirius let Meghan drive instead. He wished he could sleep as they flew across the desert, encountering dust storms but thankfully no nightmares. They arrived in Amarillo, Texas with not so much as a peep from anything strange or dark.

A group meeting was immediately called, the group breaking into a restaurant so that they could bring some tables together for it.

“We don’t really know what to expect in Dallas. The fact that we haven’t met any resistance in Texas yet probably means they are going all-in on Dallas,” Remus said.

“The dreams are ready,” a familiar voice said suddenly, Sirius looking behind him in shock to see Luna Lovegood standing there.

“Luna,” Sirius grinned.

“Hello. I’m sorry if you missed me,” Luna said.

“Luna, you didn’t have to come back,” Remus said.

“I wanted to. Or my dreamer wanted me to. Either way. I’m here now, until the end. She knows what the nightmares did to her mother. She’s not saying much but… I don’t think she’s happy,” Luna said.

Luna came over and sat down at the tables. No one else questioned her but Sirius was glad she was there. He hadn’t realized how much he missed her until he saw her again.

“Well, we’re glad to have you,” Sirius said.

“It’s not just me, of course. All of the dreams are gathering,” Luna said.

“Luna, we can’t allow all the dreams to sacrifice themselves. If the nightmares win, people will still need dreams,” Remus said.

Luna smiled and said, “Don’t worry. There will always be dreams, though the nightmares make things hard.”

A thought occurred to Sirius, one he thought he should’ve asked a long time ago, “Luna… Aren’t nightmares normal? Nightmares are really just dreams.”

“Nightmares have always existed… but not like this. Not since he arrived on this world,” Luna said.

“What do we even know about him?” Sirius asked, looking at the group who all looked embarrassed.

“We don’t know much. We know his name but speaking it summons the nightmares right to you. We know he’s been here a while. But beyond that? He’s a mystery,” Remus admitted.

“We dreams know a little more than that,” Luna said.

“Then why haven’t you told us anything?” Meghan asked.

“You haven’t asked. And we’ve only learned some things more recently. He was a man. His name was Tom Riddle. He did come from your world but he knew about this world before he arrived. He knew how to control and influence nightmares. He let them consume him… but really he was consuming them. He’s not really a man anymore. He’s a sentient, living nightmare,” Luna said.

“That’s… fun,” Sirius said darkly.

“All nightmares are connected now through him. You can’t destroy all the nightmares. So if you want to restore the balance to this world and bring back the harmony we used to have… you have to stop him,” Luna explained.

“And that’s what we’re going to do,” Sirius said.

“But how? How can we defeat a foe we’ve never met? And we only get one shot,” Adam asked, wiping his glasses on his shirt.

“Yeah, if we go into Dallas and he just instantly kills us all… it’s over,” Hope said.

“So, what’s the plan then?” Darlene asked.

“I think we should focus on the connection between us all. Then we go in separately, at different points in the city,” Remus said.

“You know that Dallas is huge, right? I used to visit my uncle in Dallas. It’s one of the biggest cities in the United States. Like top ten,” Becca said, holding up ten fingers to demonstrate.

“Yeah. It’s big. The biggest city we’ve come across so far. But what if we all had Kaori’s speed? And Sirius’s flight? And Adam’s clones?” Remus grinned.

“Might be hard to learn to trade all the powers,” Meghan said.

“We don’t need all. Just enough. Enough to give us a fighting chance. I know we might perish but we’ve come too far not to give it all we’ve got,” Remus said and reached for Sirius and Meghan’s hands, who then reached for the hands of the people next to them, until everyone, including Luna, was holding hands.

“It comes faster now, doesn’t it?” Meghan asked.

“Yes. Which makes it important for us to remain together as much as possible from now and until the end,” Remus replied.

Hope snorted and said, “We should all sleep on pallets on the floor together, like one of those church sleepovers I did as a kid. Did you guys ever do that?”

“Still Jewish,” Meghan smirked.

“No one? Just me? OK…” Hope frowned.

“That’s a great idea, Hope. Except that we don’t sleep,” Darlene pointed out.

“Right! I knew that!” Hope said.

“But Hope is on the right path. We should all try to remain together, in the same room at all times,” Remus said.

“So, when are we going to learn how to get super speedy clones?” Meghan asked.

“Next time we train,” Remus said.

“Can’t that be… now? Does anyone else have anywhere else to be?” Meghan asked.

Everyone glanced around and shrugged. Shortly, they were outside. First they practiced flying. Meghan was perhaps even better than Sirius now. Remus thankfully was able to pick it up much more quickly this time.

They next worked on Kaori’s super speed. In short order the group was flying in super fast circles above Amarillo, the dreams speeding after them at their heels. Sirius wished for a different time when he and Remus could race each other across the dream world version of America, free of any risk or fear.

Last they worked on the clones. Jan was surprisingly the first to pick up the clones, seeming to freak herself out by summoning five clones at once, all five of whom quickly went invisible. The rest of the gang picked up the clones one by one until they now had a small legion of clones speeding around and flying. A few were picking up the various abilities of different members, based on individual closeness.

“OK. We did well. We all did well,” Remus said.

“I wish Moody was here,” Priya said.

“Me too,” Remus admitted.

Sirius took Remus’s hand and they smiled at each other.

“Class dismissed,” Remus said, walking away with Sirius.

“Wait. Where are you going? Aren’t we supposed to stay together?” Meghan asked.

“Sirius and I need an hour. You’ll be fine,” Remus called out.

The two of them found a nearby hotel and room they could be alone in. Sirius did feel like a hypocrite but the two of them knew that tomorrow would see them face the ultimate nightmare and there was a chance they would never have the time together again.

There was nothing magic about this time. They fell into the bed naked, passion on their lips. They made love slow, savoring every moment and every touch. Remus rode Sirius this time, Sirius howling as he came inside Remus then pulled Remus’s cock up to his mouth, rapidly sucking him to his own climax.  And then they kissed and cried. Neither of them wanted to let go. Sirius wasn’t even sure that Remus would ever be able to return to their world. But he knew that no matter what, living or dead, he would remain by Remus’s side until whatever end they should both meet.

 


	7. Deep in the Heart of Texas

They prepared for the final battle in a nearby suburb to the west of Dallas. One by one everyone departed to enter the city at a different part. Sirius thought there was something beautiful about the sight of his friends flying away, dreams streaming behind them.

He and Remus remained together as they they traveled to West Dallas. The planned final goal was Downtown Dallas but there was no reason to think the nightmares would let them just go straight there.

“Dallas doesn’t look like much. I’m disappointed,” Remus said.

“Yeah, Texas doesn’t do it for me. I’m sure there are some nice parts though,” Sirius said, as they glided over the freeway.

And then it happened, like Sirius had slammed into a brick wall, quickly immersed in darkness. And then there was light surrounding his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange.

“Hello again, cousin,” she said.

“Bella. Come to get a front seat to your defeat?” Sirius asked.

Bella’s dark-red painted lip gave Sirius a bone-chilling smile and she laughed.

“I’m here to give you what you want. You want to see my master, I’ll bring you to him. Did you really think we’d just let you fight your way to him? All of your friends and your lover have now been captured. We’re going to keep them in the nightmare. We’ll make them live out their worst nightmares over and over and over again until one by one they break. And then he’ll take them into himself,” Bella said.

“So why aren’t you doing that to me?” Sirius asked.

Bella rushed forward, placing a pale hand on Sirius’s cheek and saying, “Because, dear cousin, you have a great mind. You can make him greater. He would rather not break your mind. But he will. If he has to,” Bella said and walked away.

“And what if I resist?” Sirius said.

Bella shrugged, “You can follow me or you can remain here to live out your worst nightmare like the rest of them. I don’t care. He’s the one who wants you. I already tried to kill you.”

Sirius did not follow her and quickly he felt the darkness consume him. He opened his eyes to a familiar and unwelcome scene. It was his family home in Maine and he was just a child again. He was locked in the attic, the place where his connection to the dream world first began. His eyes felt hot like he had been crying.

What was so special about this? In many ways, being locked in the attic had been preferable to being actively abused by his mother. Being away from her had been a small reward.

Sirius wandered around the attic, looking at all the things that had been stored there. He could remember them all. Sirius suddenly shuddered, hearing his mother screaming downstairs. He wasn’t afraid of her, he told himself. And he never had been. But it still startled him when she yelled.

How long had he been in the attic? He couldn’t remember. The sun was fading in the window and she never left him in there after dark. She would probably let him out soon. He sat down beneath the window as he often did, looking at an old book of maps that was up there.

Daylight slowly faded until he could no longer see. There was a light but the bulb had burned out years ago. Sirius could hear skittering sounds, hoping it was only a rat. His mother should be around to let him out any moment. He tried to remember why she had even sent him up there. He couldn’t recall. She had probably called him something nasty and he had probably snapped back. He wasn’t afraid of her. It didn’t matter how many times she locked him in the attic.

Sirius laid himself out on the rug beneath the window. If he just rested his eyes, she would wake him up sooner. But when he did open his eyes he went to check the door, finding it still locked.

“Hello?” Sirius said.

No one answered. He thought distantly he could hear his father snoring. No one was coming. He walked back to the window, looking up at the moon, finding it to be his only friend. He had always told himself not to worry about being forgotten. As much as his mother seemed to hate him, she had never forgotten him before. But this time she really had.

It wouldn’t bother him so much, but he had something to do. What was it? He couldn’t recall. He was only ten and didn’t exactly have responsibilities. But he definitely had something he was supposed to be doing.

Time passed and he fell asleep on the rug again. When he awoke it was morning and he could hear people shuffling about. He could hear his brother, Regulus, in the hallway. Sirius rushed to the door and tried to open it. It was still locked.

“Regs! Regs, let me out!” Sirius screamed but he received no acknowledgement.

He banged on the door but all the voices trailed downstairs. Sirius collapsed to the floor, back against the door. He must’ve done something really bad. But he couldn’t remember. He was a good boy. He always got good grades. He never got into any trouble. He didn’t understand why she hated him so much. Despite himself, Sirius cried, not understanding why this was happening to him. It wasn’t fair!

The day passed and Sirius tried to keep his mind occupied. He still had a sense that there was something he was supposed to be doing. It was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t reach it. Night fell again and Sirius considered the possibility that he might never leave the attic. He would jump out the window if he had to. A three story fall would probably break a lot of bones, though. They could just drag him back up to the attic, broken bones and all.

Sirius wondered why he didn’t need to eat or use the bathroom yet. Shouldn’t he need to do those things? Something wasn’t right… Something was missing. He had forgotten something.

He heard skittering again. No… it wasn’t skittering. It was something more. It sounded more like a person. In the darkness, he saw moonlight glint off of cloudy eyes as a figure shambled out like a zombie.

“No! This isn’t real,” Sirius shouted and banged on the attic door.

“This isn’t real, this isn’t real! I have somewhere to be! Something to do!” Sirius shouted and suddenly his voice was deeper and he was much taller.

He turned around and the attic disappeared.

“I forgot. I forgot everything,” Sirius said and raced into the darkness to find his friends.

 

* * *

 

He found Meghan first, also running through the dark.

“Meghan?” Sirius said.

“Sirius! How did you know it was me? I can’t see shit,” Meghan said.

“I could feel it,” Sirius admitted.

“Cool. Also sort of gross but whatever. You escaped your nightmare?” Meghan said.

“Yeah. I was locked in the attic at my family home again. They forgot me,” Sirius admitted.

“That’s all? I mean… Sorry, that sounds insensitive. Let’s just say my nightmare was like… a horror movie. A really gory one,” Meghan said.

“I’m sorry. Here, take my hand. We’ve gotta find the others,” Sirius said, flailing his hand about until their fingertips brushed then locked together.

They found Jan next. Entering someone else’s dream felt oddly violating. Jan was on a stage. She seemed younger, having long hair and no tattoos or piercings. She was giving a speech but was stammering and sputtering her words out.

“Jan! Wake up! It’s a dream!” Meghan shouted.

Jan screamed and clasped a brown hand to her mouth, glaring at Sirius and Meghan. Immediately, her long hair faded away and her tattoos and piercings reappeared.

“Are you OK?” Sirius asked and Jan smiled.

“I am now,” she said and grabbed hands with Meghan, the darkness returning.

After that they bumped into Adam who had also escaped his nightmare.

“So what was it like?” Meghan asked Adam.

Adam groaned.

“I got pulled over by the cops,” Adam said.

“OK, that’s definitely worse than my gore show,” Meghan admitted.

“Thanks,” Adam said, taking Sirius’s other hand as they traversed the darkness.

Becca and Darlene had also escaped their nightmares and joined the group. Becca was stuck in line at the DMV for all of eternity and Darlene had dreamed she was drowning in an ocean of shrimp.

“Shrimp creep me out. Don’t judge me,” Darlene grumbled.

“Fair enough,” Meghan said

After that they found Felix who seemed very shaken up.

“Listen, I don’t want to talk about what happened. It’s personal,” Felix said before anyone could ask him.

“No worries, Felix. We’ve still got others to find,” Sirius said.

They found Hope at a family dinner, being stuck listening to a racist uncle ramble forever on a loop. She seemed very grateful to be rescued.

Kaori was in a car, stuck in traffic. Priya was a child, lost in a mall. This left Remus, and Sirius had a bad feeling. Through the darkness they began to see a light getting closer and closer. Remus would be through there, Sirius could feel it.

Blasting out of the light, they found themselves back in Dallas. The location seemed immediately familiar.

“Guys… I know this place. I’ve seen it somewhere,” Meghan said.

“It’s Dealey Plaza. Where Kennedy was shot,” Adam said.

Sirius looked behind them, seeing a walkway.

“This is the grassy knoll. Made famous by conspiracy theorists,” Sirius observed.

They began to walk north, further to where Kennedy was actually shot. Remus was near. He could feel it. Next to the actual spot where JFK had been shot there was a nice memorial, Remus standing there looking calm.

“Hello,” Remus said, making a small bow.

“Remus… what’s wrong?” Sirius said.

Remus gave Sirius a wicked smile.

“Nothing is wrong. In fact, nothing has ever been more right. Your boyfriend has given his body… to me,” Remus said.

“You. You’re him,” Meghan said.

“Vold-” Sirius started but Remus went, “Tsk, tsk, don’t say my name. You’ll make my nightmares angry.”

“Get out of him. Leave Remus alone,” Sirius growled.

“Leave him alone? Why, he willingly let me inside! You see, your boyfriend is loaded with guilt. So much guilt. I showed him his worst nightmare. In his worst nightmare, I had possession of your body, Sirius, and there was nothing he could do. And I made him believe it was his fault. He was so much easier to break than I ever could have imagined. So I told him I’d make a trade. His body for all of your lives. He said yes. You are all free to leave, now,” the man inside Remus said, gesturing openly.

“Cut the shit. You know that we’ll never go for that,” Sirius shouted, marching towards him.

“Of course. But it was worth a try, wasn’t it?” the man inside Remus said then clapped, a boom echoing and knocking them all back.

Suddenly, an immense red creature appeared, Remus sitting atop it.

“Is that a fuckin’ dragon?” Meghan asked.

“Yes. Yes, it is,” Sirius said and took flight, the others following suit, numerous clones appearing, the dreams appearing on the horizon.

Rumbles came from all directions, nightmares coming to attack. This was it. The final battle. The dragon flew towards Reunion Tower, a large tower topped by a ball that contained a restaurant and observation deck. The dragon perched on the top and spewed fire below, Sirius dodging the blasts as best he could but still getting a little singed.

Once he was close enough, the dragon swung at him with its mighty claws. The claws were sharp. Even just a graze might be enough to disembowel him, he thought. Sirius flew in rapid circles around the tower, knowing there was no way he could keep track of him. He then flew with all his might at the side of the dragon, turning his skin to steel just in time to smash into it.

The dragon became unsteady and began to fall, Sirius needing to think fast as Remus was flung from the back of the dragon. The man inside Remus laughed and then Remus began to scream. The dragon flew away and Sirius closed his eyes, knowing exactly what he needed, instantly feeling cold scales beneath him as he reopened his eyes to find himself on top of a silver-blue dragon of his own, swooping down to catch Remus before he crashed into the ground.

“Sirius! I’m so sorry! I’m sorry,” Remus said, wrapping his arms around Sirius.

“Don’t worry. I understand. There will be time for apologies later. For now we have a world to save,” Sirius said, following the trail of the dragon, flying around the heart of Downtown Dallas.

The dragon spewed fire all over while their friends battled the nightmares down below. Everyone was still alive and mostly safe, Sirius was certain of it.

“Sirius, get closer to the dragon. Something just occurred to me,” Remus said.

“All right,” Sirius replied, navigating the dragon with his mind.

“He used my own imagination to make that dragon. If that’s so… I think I can take over control,” Remus revealed.

“Sounds good to me,” Sirius said.

The dragon spotted them heading its way, opening its mouth, Sirius seeing fire building from within and then… it stopped. It flew over to them and Remus jumped onto its back.

“All right. Let’s go kick some nightmare ass,” Remus said.

Sirius smiled at him and nodded, the two of them flying towards the ground. Suddenly, Meghan was flying next to them.

“Holy shit. You guys have dragons! When did you guys learn to do that?” Meghan asked.

“A minute ago,” Sirius explained.

“Cool. OK. Back to fighting,” Meghan said, flying back towards the monstrous creatures that were battling below.

“What the hell is that?” Sirius called over to Remus.

“Looks like a giant eye,” Remus said.

“I think it’s moving,” Sirius said, watching as it rolled from the grassy field it sat on, onto the road where their friends were fighting.

Sirius landed his dragon in front of the eye, the dragon stopping it with its claw then blasting it back with fire. Behind him their friends cheered but Sirius knew they needed to find the master of the nightmares and bring him to an end.

The battle carried on and on. The nightmares came and they continued to defeat them but as long as the master of nightmares lurked, the fight would never end. But how could they draw out something that lived within the nightmares? Sirius had an idea but he didn’t really like it. He flew around the city, searching for an entry way into the real world. Unfortunately, he found the nearest entry point being guarded by his cousin.

“There you are. Are you here to squish me with your dragon? Too afraid to fight me man to woman,” Bella sneered.

“I’m not here to fight at all. Just being strategic. Might be good to know where the exits are if I need to make a quick escape,” Sirius said then hopped off the dragon, marching towards Bella with a smile on his face.

“What are you doing? If you come near me I’ll cut your throat,” Bella said, pulling out her silver blade.

“No, I don’t think you will be doing that,” Sirius said then raised his arms up to the sky and shouted, “Voldemort!”

A million screams echoed as Bella laughed, the nightmares rushing their way.

“You fool. My master is going to tear you apart. He’ll enter you and rebuild you in his image!” Bella shouted.

“Maybe. We’ll see,” Sirius said, keeping his arms raised.

“What are you doing? I always knew you were weak. Look at you giving up like a coward!” Bella screamed at him.

The nightmares slammed into his back, Sirius feeling himself hurtling towards the entry way. The voice of the master whispered in his ears, “Now I am here. Now I will be with you forever.”

Sirius smiled at Bella as a look of horror hit her face, Sirius careening into her as they traveled through the entry way. On the other side, Bella was flung out into the road, a car barely missing her. Sirius smashed into the concrete of the sidewalk, feeling something else hit the ground beside him.

He looked and found the figure to be a much, much older man, looking very ill and emaciated.

“No!” Bella screamed.

“Police! This woman is a wanted felon!” Sirius shouted, standing up and dusting himself off.

The emaciated man reached up with a hand, his sunken eyes looking at Sirius in horror as he died, his hand falling to the ground.

“What’s going on here?” a police officer shouted as Sirius traveled back through the entry way.

On the other side, Sirius was greeted by two dragons, Remus and all of their friends.

“What the hell happened? All of a sudden everything just… stopped,” Meghan said.

“We won,” Sirius said then added, “He’s dead.”

“How?” Meghan asked.

“I took Voldemort back into our world. Whatever was left of him, anyhow,” Sirius said.

“I’m surprised he could go back with how long he’s been here,” Adam said.

“I took a risk. I let him inside of me just long enough to go through the entry way. I sent Bella back too. With any luck she just got arrested and should be headed back to prison, this time without any friends to set her loose,” Sirius smiled.

“Well… now what?” Hope asked.

“First we need to check on Moody. And then… we do whatever we want,” Sirius said.

 

* * *

 

Remus and Sirius traveled back to Flagstaff on their dragons, Sirius thinking he needed to make a bucket list just so he could scratch “Ride a dragon with my boyfriend” off of it. Moody was standing outside waiting, looking much better than he had before.

“We did it,” Sirius said, landing in front of him.

“I can see. Good job,” Moody said, the others all arriving in short order as well.

“You’re looking better,” Remus said.

“It takes a lot of concentration,” Moody said.

“I’m glad you’re all right, Mr. Moody,” Luna said, suddenly appearing.

“Luna. You’re safe,” Sirius said.

“Of course I am. And now thanks to all of you… this world will always be safe. Well, until someone else like that enters this world and tries to use it to their advantage,” Luna said.

“No. That won’t happen,” Moody said.

“We can check back in from time to time,” Priya declared.

“Actually… I’m going to stay,” Moody explained.

“Alastor… you can’t,” Remus said.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I can. There’s nothing for me on our world. And if I went back… I wouldn’t even know how to begin. But here… I can be of use. I can be watchful. I’ll serve as a guardian to alert when this world is under siege again,” Moody said.

Remus nodded and went over, shaking Moody’s hand.

“You’re a good man, Alastor Moody. A much better man than me,” Remus said.

Moody just laughed and the rest of the group came to say their goodbyes. No one else wanted to stay, no matter how much they loved this world. Many of them missed food. Others missed love, family and friends. Some were scared by immortality.

Sirius? Sirius just wanted to come home and live with his boyfriend. He wanted to wake up and see the sunlight illuminating his golden-brown hair. He wanted to sit outside and watch the stars on a blanket. He wanted them to serve each other breakfast in bed and take each other out to fancy restaurants. He wanted to go to Pride and hold hands with his boyfriend without fear. Sirius wanted to do all the things he had always dreamed of doing with a lover.

The life on this world would never feel real. It would always be a little hollow, especially with all their friends going away. Luckily, Sirius received no pushback from Remus. Remus also wanted to return. But… neither of them were sure he would be able to return.

The goodbyes amongst the group were long and painful. They all exchanged contact information that they hoped they would all remember. The connections found on this world were begging not to be lost.

“Let this be a beginning, not an ending,” Meghan said before flying off to Portland.

Remus and Sirius rode back to Seattle on their dragons, cutting across the country. All around Sirius could see the change that the defeat of the nightmares had caused. Everything was a little brighter, a little warmer. There were hidden songs in the air and the air smelt like fruit and chocolate.

They parked the dragons in Cal Anderson Park in Seattle then flew over to the old house in North Seattle. To their surprise, Luna was waiting with a smile.

“Luna… It feels weird saying goodbye,” Sirius said.

“Don’t worry. You’ll see my dreamer soon,” Luna said but Sirius and Remus both hugged her before entering the house.

Holding hands they marched down the stairs.

“I can feel it. I can feel it pulling me, Sirius!” Remus shouted as the room began to glow blue.

“Me too. Me too,” Sirius said and they were pulled through.

Both of them stood in silence in the dark basement at first. Sirius’s heart slammed in his chest. There were voices upstairs. People were in his house. They rushed up the stairs and opened the door, both of them stepping out into a brightly lit living room, James and Lily standing there smiling.

“Remus!” James shouted and rushed over to him, hugging him more tightly than Sirius believed he had ever been hugged before.

Lily came over and hugged Sirius, obviously waiting for her husband to release Remus long enough for her to get in.

“Say, Lils, what month is it?” Sirius asked.

“March,” Lily revealed.

“Wow,” Sirius said.

“So, I may still have time to pay my taxes and not lose my home? That’s nice,” Remus said, finally getting to hug Lily.

“You’re going to have to talk to the police, you know,” James said.

“I’m not worried about that. I’ll tell them I had a nervous breakdown. I went to Nebraska to be alone for a while. I’m very, very sorry and it will never happen again. I haven’t broken any laws,” Remus said.

“Right you are,” James said as Lily let him go.

“So… I don’t suppose you guys know anything about my cousin getting arrested?” Sirius asked.

Lily and James both smiled and glanced at each other.

“It was on the news. I think the cop must’ve been one of your guys. He arrested her real fast. Witnesses described seeing a man with long, dark hair disappear but the cop claimed he didn’t see anyone but her. She’s back in jail, awaiting trial,” Lily explained.

“Umm… what about… the other person,” Sirius awkwardly asked.

“Oh. That weird corpse. They identified him as Tom Riddle. He apparently disappeared decades ago. He was very dead. He only had one distant cousin still kicking around. She had him cremated,” James explained.

“Ah. Well, that’s that then. I guess… life can proceed?” Sirius said, looking around strangely.

“Yes, it can. Which, by the way, I am famished. Let’s all get dinner together,” Remus said.

“As long as Sirius doesn’t go to the bathroom alone,” James said as they began to head for the door.

“What, can I never go to the bathroom alone again for the rest of my life?” Sirius asked with exasperation.

“Pretty much,” James winked and they all laughed.

 


	8. Coda

Days after Remus and Sirius returned to the real world, there was a knock on their door. Sirius opened the door, finding the smiling faces of Luna and Pandora Lovegood on the other side.

“Hello, Luna. Pandora,” Sirius nodded, letting them come inside.

“Hello, Mr. Black,” Luna said while Pandora, to his surprise, embraced him.

Behind them Remus came down the stairs then rushed over, at which point Pandora also embraced him.

“I dreamt about you,” Luna said, looking up at Sirius.

“What do you remember?” Sirius asked her.

Luna shrugged.

“Not much. Do you remember me?” Luna asked.

“Oh yes. I remember everything. You were very brave and very kind,” Sirius said.

Luna smiled then gave Remus a hug.

“So, what about the others? All the others who saved me,” Pandora said.

“Well… I’m sorry to say that some of them didn’t make it. And one of them decided to stay on that world. The rest we’ve been in contact with. Actually… we have a private Facebook group. It’s kind of cool,” Remus said.

“We’re planning a meeting. Maybe for the week of Pride, which will be the one year anniversary of when this whole mess started,” Sirius explained.

“In the meanwhile, I’m selling my house. Before I thought I wasn’t ready for that but… well, after what we went through. I don’t want to be away from him,” Remus said, smiling warmly at Sirius who chuckled with embarrassment.

“Do you ever think you’ll want to go back?” Pandora asked.

“I hope we never need to,” Sirius admitted.

“The basement doesn’t hum anymore. We’re keeping the basement door locked for now just in case but I think if that world needs us again, we’ll hear the call,” Remus said.

“Xeno and I would like to have you both over for dinner sometime, by the way,” Pandora revealed.

“We’d love that,” Remus said.

“This weekend, perhaps?” Pandora asked.

“Remus’s birthday is this weekend, actually. I think we’re going to stay in and relax,” Sirius explained.

“Oh. Well, some other time,” Pandora replied with a smile.

“Definitely,” Sirius said then offered them some tea.

 

* * *

 

The week of the big reunion, Meghan was the first to arrive. Sirius was surprised to find that she was more quiet and bookish outside of the dream realm. In fact, as soon as she was settled in she was lying back on their sofa, reading a book.

“Sorry, I feel bad,” Meghan said as Sirius walked through the living room.

“Why is that?” Sirius asked.

“Well, I should be more social. I guess in that other world… I felt more confident. I had powers. I was cool. Here? I’m just… Meghan,” she said.

“You’re a security guard. I still think that’s pretty cool,” Sirius said.

Meghan cringed.

“I quit that job. It wasn’t me. And after you’ve fought a battle to save the entire universe or whatever… it’s hard to go back to guarding parked cars,” she said.

“What are you doing now, then? Becoming a cop?” Sirius asked, sitting down at the end of the sofa.

“What? No! Cops are the worst. I don’t know. I always wanted to be an actor when I was younger. Working with you guys… befriending you… it’s made me want to connect with the creative part of myself,” Meghan said.

“I’m sure Portland has some opportunities you could explore,” Sirius said.

Meghan shrugged.

“I’d be more interested in moving up here,” she said.

“Why? Seattle’s not so different than Portland. Portland seems cool,” Sirius said.

“Yeah but… I think there are… other things that might draw me to Seattle,” Meghan awkwardly grinned.

Sirius blinked and said, “Like what? I don’t see what Seattle has that Portland doesn’t.”

Meghan gave him an annoyed look and Sirius said, “Oh. You mean… us.”

“Yeah,” Meghan said, twitching a smile.

“I mean, surely you have friends you’re leaving behind in Portland,” Sirius said.

“Not really. I had a lot of friends in high school and college. But after college, everyone moved away. Or they got married and had children. That stuff never interested me. The whole dynamic changed. And… I don’t know. Maybe you guys don’t want to be my friend… but I’d like to be your friend, if you’ll have me,” she said.

Sirius grinned and said, “I can’t speak for Remus but… oh who cares? I will speak for Remus. We would love to have you as a friend.”

“Thank you,” she said.

 

* * *

 

The following day, Priya and Kaori arrived.

“You two don’t mind sharing a bedroom, right? We’re gonna need to double up as many as we can get,” Sirius asked.

“Oh, we’re dating now. It’s funny because before… everything that happened we had been strictly platonic but… something changed once we were back on this world,” Priya said, kissing Kaori’s hand.

“Oh. Well, congratulations!” Sirius said, giving them both hugs.

“Meghan!” Kaori shouted, running over to the sofa to give her a hug.

Meghan stood up and accepted the hug, seeming warmer than she had the day before. Later that day Hope and Adam both arrived.

“Do you guys have some wine? I could use some wine,” Hope asked as soon as she walked in, Adam having arrived not long before her, chatting in a corner with Priya and Kaori.

“We do in fact have some wine,” Remus said, giving her a hug then leading her to the kitchen.

Felix, Becca and Darlene all arrived the day after that. Most everyone was still trying to pick up the pieces of their life. Remus and Sirius offered whatever help they could spare. There was a lot of that going around. They had all shared this experience and lost their lives for a little while.

There was some concern that Jan might not show up. She had always been quiet at the best of times. But late Thursday she arrived with a smile on her face.

“Hey, guys,” she said as Remus led her inside.

“Hey, Jan. Excited for Pride?” Sirius asked.

“Yeah. I was hoping my boyfriend and girlfriend could come but they both had to work. And plane tickets are expensive,” she said.

“Boyfriend and girlfriend? That’s interesting,” Meghan said.

“Yeah, I’m bi and poly,” Jan said, sitting down on the sofa next to Meghan.

“I’m asexual and I also don’t really do romantic stuff but if I did, you know, I think I’d be poly too,” Meghan said.

“Meghan and Jan are chatting,” Remus whispered into Sirius’s ear.

“Indeed. Reality is strange… and kind of wonderful,” Sirius whispered back, Remus giving him a kiss on the cheek.

 

* * *

 

Friday night they all went out to some early Pride events, probably staying out far too late. Felix was excited to attend the Trans Pride parade. All of the ladies, even the straight ones, were excited for the Dyke March. Sirius was just excited to be out and queer in an environment that was created for them.

On Saturday morning Sirius was up early, annoying everyone else with his insistence that they all get up so they could absorb more Pride. He was only able to persuade Jan, Meghan and Remus to go down to Capitol Hill with him, the rest opting for more sleep and coming down later.

“Man, there is like.. No ace shit at Pride? I’ve been looking all over but there’s nothing,” Meghan complained.

“No bi stuff either. That’s disappointing,” Jan said.

“I feel you on the bi stuff,” Remus said.

“I’m sorry it sucks, guys,” Sirius frowned.

“It doesn’t suck. I mean it’s still cool to see so many out queer people. And it’s cool to hang with you guys,” Meghan said, Jan quietly agreeing with her.

Later that night they were all out bar hopping. Hope, it turned out, could really hold her liquor. She also apparently kissed a girl for the first time at some point and would not stop telling everyone about it for the rest of the night.

Meghan and Jan tapped out early, heading back to Remus and Sirius’s house. Sirius persuaded the others to go back home just after midnight, knowing they would have to be up early for the parade in the morning.

The parade was interesting but seemed to go on forever. He found that even he had reached his limit for a single weekend. And besides, there was still some stuff that he and Remus wanted to talk to the gang about before they left.

After the parade they remained downtown for a while but eventually everyone agreed they had had enough.

Back at the house, Sirius gathered everyonein the living room.

“So… Remus and I want to talk to you about something. I’ll let Remus start,” Sirius said.

“You’re not going to, like, ask us to go back to the dream world, are you? I don’t think I’m ready for that,” Adam admitted.

“No. Definitely not. But you are on the right track. I’m… writing a novel,” Remus said.

“Of course you are,” Meghan winked.

“I’m writing a novel about my experiences in the dream world. Now, I’ve been changing things. The protagonist is different than me. I’ve changed some locations and I’m working with Sirius to get his point-of-view in there too,” Remus explained.

“You can use me. If you’re asking for permission,” Meghan offered.

Remus laughed.

“I was planning on changing names and descriptions,” Remus said.

“Well, I don’t want you to. I mean… I guess you can give me a different name. Like Megan without an H. God, I hate when people spell my name like that,” Meghan grumbled, seeming more herself than ever.

“Fine. I’ll make the character based on you more like you,” Remus said.

“Thank you!” Meghan grinned.

“No, really I just… wanted to give everyone a chance to offer their experiences. And maybe just to let everyone know before you walk into a bookstore a year from now and see it on the shelf. It might be a shock,” Remus said.

“A good shock but thanks,” Priya said.

“I’m going to do some art for it,” Sirius proclaimed proudly.

“You should do a group portrait of us all,” Darlene suggested.

“Oh. I could. I’ve done individuals before. Or two people. Maybe next time we all meet up,” Sirius said.

“And when will that be? It was hard enough getting us all here this time,” Becca noted.

“I’m sure we’ll work something out. You don’t all have to come here,” Sirius said.

 

* * *

 

“Oh boy,” Remus said, looking at the crowd that had lined up at his Q&A and book signing on the release day of his new book, with art by Sirius.

Piles of copies of the book, entitled Dream a Little Dream of Me, were positioned all over. Sirius was proud of his work on the dust jacket. It was just as wistful and romantic as it should be, even if the story was ultimately darker in some places than might be expected.

Remus hadn’t set out to write a love story but in the process he had realized it really was. They had gotten very detailed accounts of the experiences of all their friends that he had used to round out the supporting characters. There was so much about them all that Sirius had never known. Everything had been so busy. But now they had their entire lives to truly get to know each other.

“Hello, Mr. Lupin,” the first questioner started.

“Call me Remus,” Remus insisted.

“Yes. Remus. I was wondering where you got the idea for this novel,” the questioner asked.

Remus smirked and said, “It came to me in a dream.”

The next questioner asked Remus why he wrote a romance novel after so many years of steering clear of romance. He only glanced at Sirius and said it was because he was in love.

There were several questions about his older books and several more about his sudden interest in romance. It was the final question that interested Sirius the most:

“Remus, I actually received an advanced copy of this to review and read it in a single sitting. I just wanted to know… is there going to be a sequel? Is Voldemort really gone?” she asked, looking hopeful.

Remus sighed and replied, “We’ll see.”

Sirius reached under the table and squeezed his hand, knowing that if darkness ever returned, they would be ready.

 


End file.
